Dayum Your Lookin' Good
by twdgirls
Summary: During Andrea's stay at Woodbury she starts to form a close and unlikely relationship with Merle Dixon, they finally reunite with the prison group and become a part of the family. However it seems that the ZA won't give the group a break and is constantly throwing obstacles which will test them to their limits. Andrea/Merle, Daryl/Carol, Rick/Michonne.
1. Chapter 1

**Dayum your lookin' good**

Andrea and Merle

Chapter 1

"Holllllyyy shittt, Blondie… Dayum your lookin'… Good." And with that his bayonet wielding prosthetic entered the walkers brain dropping it to the floor. "Now how's about a big hug for ya ol' pal Merle?" A smirk smothered his face and with that memory everything went black.

"Michonne?" Andrea's voice was tired and dry.  
"Right here." Her friend responded giving her reassurance. Slowly turning, her eyes landed on him, Merle Dixon. Not knowing if he was real or a figment of her imagination.  
"Shhhh." Merle responded to her faint look with a finger over his lips as he readjusted Andrea's blindfold. From what she could make out during her constantly fading consciousness, she saw the world moving as if she was in a vehicle, just before everything went black again she managed to make out a towering, guarded gate.

She was awakened by a doctor who treated her with medicine and an IV line. She asked many questions and constantly protested about staying, in fact she didn't even know where she was staying, maybe some weird, abandoned house? Just as she was about to make another protest a familiar face who could relieve her of her uncertainty strolled into the room.  
"Go check on your patient doc." And with that instruction the doctor left the room, all who remained was Michonne, the two guards, herself and Merle.  
"Bet you wonderin' if I was real?" His speech now directed towards Andrea, "Probably hopin' I wasn't… well here I am." a chuckle escaped his lips, he pulled a chair forward and turned it so he was sitting with the back of the chair facing his chest, he rested his arms on the top of the back rest. "I guess this whole world gets a lil' smaller towards the end huh? Not a lot of us left to share the air right?" He paused again "You know when they found me I was near bled out, starvin' thinking to myself that a bullet would make a good last meal, take myself a nice long nap after, wait for Daryl on the other side. You've seen my brother?" Michonne was looking at her in confusion whilst Merle was glaring at her waiting for an answer.  
"Not for a long time."  
"Hmm that makes two of us." and that was how Andrea was reunited with Merle Dixon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Come on blondie I ain't got all day!" It's been three months since Andrea and Michonne entered Woodbury. A few days after they arrived Michonne left. She missed her friend dearly, the friend that kept her alive during the harsh winter. A recurring thought came to her mind about going after her, but she was tired of running. Woodbury finally gave her a life, it made the end of the world that bit more bearable, especially since she and the governor were building a relationship and they've had some fun more than a few times. It made her feel like she was living even if she is the walking dead.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming"  
"Woaahh slow down there girl! I haven't even touched you yet, don't want ya getting' all excited on me." That stupid grin took over his face.  
"Just shut up and get in the damn truck Merle."  
"Oooh someone's feelin' extra feisty today." Andrea shook her head in annoyance as she sat in the passenger seat. After at Woodbury for so long, it was only a matter of time before she got stuck going on a run with Merle Dixon.  
"So where are we going anyway?"  
"That's for me to know and you to find out." He turned up his ACDC cd but not before flashing Andrea a quick wink to add to his comment.

After an hour or two of driving they arrived at a town which didn't look like it had been identified by many survivors. Whilst she was staring at her untouched surroundings, the town seemed to be extremely historic, she hadn't realised Merle had already got out the truck and was waiting for her.  
"Get ya' ass into gear girl we gotta' job to do." He said whilst tapping the top of the truck. She took out their weapons and she stared at Merle loading his gun, it impressed her that even though he only had one hand, he could still do almost everything.  
"Ok so are you gonna' tell me what we're lookin' for or…"  
"Just some more stuff to add to the barricades and then the usual's; food, ammo, anything we can scavenge."  
"Really, that's it? Would've thought you'd bring one of the guys for that."  
"I woulda' done but I'm gettin' tired of the hand jokes." He paused for a moment staring down at where his hand used to be. "So ya' better not give me any shit or I'll give ya' the biter treatment." She now found herself faced with his bayonet as she gave a nod.

They entered house after house. They managed to find plenty of food and medical supplies and some old garages which they would raid later. They separated as they checked the rooms. A few minutes later, Andrea was startled by a loud crash coming from Merle's direction. Without a second thought, she went dashing towards the noise.  
"Merle! Merle! You in here?"  
"AARGHH!" She removed the rubble of the broken cabinets to find Merle buried underneath.  
"Shit." He let out a few coughs before continuing "Tripped over somethin' and next thing I found myself crashing into everythin'."  
"Here let me give you a hand." he glared at her as she realised that her choice of words weren't the best.  
"Oh I uh… sorry." he got himself up and looked at her.  
"Ain't nothin' I ain't heard before." Feeling like an idiot, she trailed behind him as he left the room. She never realised so many things could link back to his hand. She never thought she would feel sorry for Merle Dixon and yet here she was alone with him in some abandoned village, feeling nothing but sorrow for the man. "The noise mighta' attracted a few biters so watch out, I'm gonna' go check some of the garages, y'all best keep going through the houses."

As she finished clearing the houses of their supplies and anything that could be used as a weapon, she returned her findings to the truck. Finally reappearing from the back of the vehicle, she saw Merle in the distance trying to lift a large sheet of metal back to their meeting point.  
"Want some help?"  
"I don't need no one's help!" She watched as he slowly continued, every muscle in his body was at work and Andrea watched as he trekked on, not giving up. She truly admired his persistence, watching as he refused to let the material win this battle. At long last he reached the truck and hoisted the metal onto the back but as she looked down to his hand, she found it covered in blood, his own blood.  
"Jesus Merle." He looked down and found himself in slight shock, he hadn't thought it was that bad  
"I ain't quittin' just cuz' of some dumb ass cut."  
"That isn't just a cut, we are going back to get your hand sewed up."  
"Nah I'm fine"  
"No Merle-"  
"I said I'm fine! Just cuz' we shared a camp one time don't mean you know me! And just cuz' your fuckin' the governor don't give you the right to boss me around!" and without another word, he stormed off into one of the old houses in hope to find some booze.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Merle you in here?" She peered her head through the doorway in hope of finding him  
"Watcha' want blondie?" His voice was stern and cold. He was sat on a bar stool with his face buried in his hands.  
"I brought a peace offering." Andrea entered the room. She sat opposite him and placed the bottle of Jack Daniels, which she had found during her scavenge, down in front of him. He stared at her for a moment. Their gazes caught eachother and she found herself staring into his eyes, his deep blue eyes. She almost started smiling but he dropped her gaze.  
"Uh so you gonna open it?" Andrea shook her head, removing her from her thoughts and picked up the bottle and handed it to him with the lid unscrewed. They sat in silence for a while, Merle occasionally took sips of the alcohol. Finally he broke the silence with a cough,  
"So how long you thinkin' of stayin' at Woodbury?"  
"I dunno', as long as it seems safe."  
"Why didn't you leave with the Nubian queen?"  
"I didn't leave with _Michonne_ because I was tired of running. For once, I just wanted to feel safe and like I had a life." She took the bottle from his hand, which was still bleeding. She downed a third of the large bottle, silence filled the room once again. He started to look at Andrea whilst she looked down at her feet. He always thought she was good looking and had tried his way with her a few times.  
"How come we never hooked up?" The signature Merle grin followed the comment.  
"You called me a whore and a rug muncher." she smirked back  
"Got a way with words, don't I?" He winked at her before returning to his feet. He was about to leave before she grabbed his wrist.  
"You know Daryl cares about you right? He did try looking for you and when he found out about what happened with you and Rick on the roof in Atlanta, he did defend you. The hurt on his face was obvious." They looked at each other again, their eyes meeting. Andrea broke their gaze and ran straight into him, a biters hand had rested itself against her shoulder.  
"Shit look out!" He grabbed her and hid her behind him and without a second thought, kicked the form back and ended its second life with his prosthetic weapon. He stood there panting for a moment, Andrea watched him. His body turned sideways revealing his muscular figure and his bold, tense arm which lead down to his blood covered metal hand replacement. It still glistened through the grime. It seems that he fits the term "knight in shining armour", finally he turned to her.  
"Ya alright?" she froze it seemed that her mouth was clamped shut "Blondie?"  
"Uh… yeah I'm fine… what about you?" he looked down at his bloodied hand now starting to feel faint.  
"We best head back. Don't wanna' run into no more biters" and with that they left the old building. Merle lead the way and they found the untouched town teeming with walking corpses, his head retreated back into the house and shut the front door.  
"What's the matter?"  
"Geeks everywhere, that explains the bastard upstairs."  
"Why don't we make a run for the truck?"  
"Looks like we gone' have to." he lifted his bayonet in the air and check with his remaining hand that it was still sturdy, he looked back at her  
"You ready?" she pulled her hunting knife and gave him a nod.

"Not today sunshine." After wrestling, he plunged his weapon deep into the monsters skull. The biters were dropping like flies thanks to Merle.  
"You still back there sugar tits?" He turned to see Andrea underneath a walker  
"A LITTLE HELP!"  
"Nah, I think you can handle this." He practically skipped to the truck  
"MERLE!" she continued her battle "Ugh… get away from me!" She finally freed one of her hands allowing her to end the creatures life. Now covered in a mixture of blood and guts, she got herself to her feet and ran to the vehicle. "What the hell was that?!" Her hands were gesturing towards him as if she was telling a story.  
"Ya didn't need my help, you gotta' learn to rely on yourself cuz' there might come a time when no one is there to save ya'." His words stopped her next sentence, she stormed to the driver's side and entered the truck "Woah watcha' doin' there sweetheart?"  
"I'm driving." her words were bold, strong and stubborn much like his.  
"And where did you get that idea from?"  
"Well considering your hand has a Chelsea smile and you look like a ghost, I don't think your exactly the best person to drive." He was about to say something before she brought a finger to his lips "Shhhh." He scowled at her and she winked back.  
"What you waiting for Merle? Wanna' lose your other hand to the biters?" He finally caved and entered the truck.  
"Your startin' to get a lil' too big for your boots."  
"I learned from the best." She flashed him a smile before starting the engine and leaving behind a trail of walkers attempting to follow them.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So blondie?"  
"Yes Merle." Andrea sounded as if she was responding to an annoying child.  
"How's thangs' with the Gov?" He started laughing to himself.  
"I don't think that's any of your business. Besides, how do you know that we are even seeing eachother?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he finally stopped laughing. This was going to be a long journey home. Home, it gave her a warm feeling that she finally had somewhere to call home.  
"Let's just say you're not the quietest girl out there. But hey, I like that in a woman." He winked at her again. Yup, definitely a long journey.  
"Fuck you Merle." She was surprised that he didn't respond. She looked at him to find him breathing heavily and looking down at his constantly bleeding hand. "Merle? You alright?"  
"I dunno? Pull over, probably just need some air." they pulled up alongside the woods. Merle jumped out and walked over to a tree "Shit."  
"Merle?" A second later he started to spill his guts onto the ground. "Oh god." She couldn't watch so she turned around, keeping an eye on the truck. It had been a couple minutes and she hadn't heard anything from him. Slowly she turned around. "You alright back th- Merle!" He had collapsed on the floor, unconscious. "Merle! Merle! Wake up!" She was shaking him and shaking him, nothing. Her head shot up as she heard some moans, not now. "Merle! We haven't got time for this!" She slapped him across the face and he stirred, his eyes were tired and looked similar to those of biters.  
"Wha- what's going on?" She smiled as he started to talk but she quickly returned to reality.  
"Biters! Get up!" She lifted him by his shirt, it wasn't much different than trying to lift him when he was unconscious. He was definitely weak but eventually he was on his feet. "We gotta' get back to the truck." He moaned in response. She threw his arm over her shoulder and they started to make their way to the vehicle. The monsters were gaining on them fast. Grabbing her knife, Andrea threw Merle onto the back of the truck and turned around. The knife entered the corpse's brain. Then she removed the knife to find five more emerging from the woods, shit. "Merle get your ass up we really gotta go!" She repeated her last method of getting him to his feet and after a few steps they were at the passengers side, she left him in the locked truck. "Don't move, I'll be right back." She killed the remaining biters with slight ease.

Andrea sat there with her head leant against the driver's door. She didn't have a clue what to do. Merle was ill, seriously ill, and they were over an hour away from Woodbury. After thinking for a couple of minutes, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She scavenged through the supplies they gathered and found water, bandages, food and some alcohol. "Merle you gotta' wake up again." He didn't move, that left only one option.  
"AGH!... What was that for?" He was soaked with water courtesy of Andrea.  
"We are too far away from Woodbury and your hand is infected, I gotta treat it Merle otherwise you could lose it or even worse…" Her voice trailed off  
"A lil help?" She extended her hand to Merle and instructed him to sit on the concrete road.  
"You ready?"  
"Just do it already!" He was starting to fad out of consciousness once again. She cleared his hand with the water then grabbed the alcohol and hovered the open bottle above his wound  
"ARG-" she covered his mouth to hide his cries of pain from the biters. He was fidgeting from beneath her grasp.  
"Shhh! I know it hurts but you gotta keep quiet." He finally calmed down and nodded, back at the farm when she was with her previous group, Hershel taught her how to treat infected wounds like T-Dogs so if it happened again they would be prepared.

After an couple of hours had passed, she handed him the food and water since he stopped fading in and out.  
"Cheers blondie." He raised his bottle and drank the whole thing with incredible speed. "Ahhh" She laughed as he placed the empty bottle by his side. "You didn't do too bad a job." A smile took over Andrea's face. She realised that was the closet to a 'thank you' she was going to get from Merle Dixon.  
"This is probably the longest you've gone without hitting on me." She smirked at him.  
"Well if your that disappointed then I can change that." He slid next to her and put his arm around her. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks and to make matters worse, he started to lean towards her.  
"Woah calm yourself, I think that infection finally reached your head." She hit him on the chest and they both started laughing. They just sat there for a while with Merle's arm still around her. "We best get going. Don't wanna' run into anymore biters." She got herself to her feet and Merle sat there admiring the view of her bending over the back of the truck to get the keys. "You might wanna' take a picture it'll last longer." He was surprised that without even looking at him she knew exactly what he was doing  
"Can't take pictures these days, might as well enjoy the view while it lasts." What is with him? Andrea thought to herself. He was being a pig but there was something about the way he said it that didn't make her want to hit him. What was it that Carol called it? 'the Dixon charm'. And with that, she started laughing to herself. "What you hollering at?"  
"Just thinking back to the farm with the others." They were both in the car finally on their way home.  
"How did you end up there?"  
"Well Rick, Shane and Carl were out in the woods and they found a deer or something, Carl was walking up to it and he got shot by someone else who was tracking the same deer." sSe paused "The guy felt awful so he took Rick and Shane back to the farm house where a man named Hershel, a vet, helped Carl and saved his life. A girl named Maggie, Hershel's oldest daughter told us where they were staying and she took Lori back on her horse whilst we drove. During Carl's recovery we all set out looking for Sophia, Carol's daughter who got chased off by walkers into the woods, alone. And that's when your brother really stepped up, he went out day after day looking for her and he took a beating in the process, he got thrown off a horse and down a hill in the woods and managed to get impaled by his own arrow. I remember he came out of the woods limping and covered in blood. He looked like a walker." She hadn't said walker in a while "I wanted to help the group and shoot the walker from the top of the RV but Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Glenn ran after him to kill him without wasting ammo. Of course I didn't listen. I pulled the trigger and watched the 'walker' fall. I had a smile on my face until I heard Rick screaming 'NO'. Me and dale ran to find Rick and Shane carrying an unconscious Daryl. Luckily I'm not too great with snipers, I only grazed his head."  
"You shot my brother?"  
"Accidently, but he understood it was an accident. Once Daryl was better we found that Hershel's barn was full of walkers. He was keeping them there because he still thought they were people and that a cure would come soon. Shane however broke open the barn doors and killed all the walkers inside, including Hershel's wife and step-son. The last walker left came out of the barn her eyes empty… it was Sophia. Carol ran towards her but Daryl wrapped his arms around her and stopped her. Rick had to put her down. That was one of the worst deaths I'd seen all you could hear were Sophia's moans and Carol crying".  
"Wow… She was a great kid it's a real shame…" Silence filled the journey for a while. "Always the sweet one my baby brotha'" He started laughing "What happened to that woman's bastard husband?" Andrea was shocked, Merle knew about Ed too?  
"Back at the camp when Rick first joined it got overrun. We lost a lot of people that day, Jim, Amy… Ed got bit too but not before Shane almost beat the guy to death when he found out about what he was doing to Carol and Sophia."  
"I'm sorry about ya sister. I felt the same on that rooftop about Daryl but it seems like my lil' brotha' has actually manned up." He did a little chuckle before they continued the journey in silence. Merle Dixon seemed to actually have feelings, she smiled to herself.  
"You know Daryl isn't the only one who has changed. You don't seem to be as much of an asshole as I remember."  
"Watch ya mouth there sweetheart. I guess I had to put all that shit behind me. We got people to protect now." She smiled at his response. This run didn't go as planned but it definitely wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She wouldn't be upset if they had to go on another run together.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They finally pulled up to the gates of Woodbury, where Martinez let them in.

"Did the run go alright? Did you get some stuff for the gate?" He asked through the open window.  
"We got food, water and stuff like that but not much else._ Someone_ decided to be stubborn and drag a sheet of metal on his own and managed to cut half his hand in the process." Andrea looked over to the sleeping body next to her.  
"Of course, he alright?"  
"Yeah, I had to give him medication, but it shut him up for a while which was an added bonus." They both laughed.  
"Alright well I'll let you get some rest, good night. Oh! by the way, the Gov is looking for you."  
"Thanks, night Martinez." She parked the car. Once everything was quiet, she sat there and looked over at Merle. After everything they had been through in Atlanta she never thought she could look at him and smile. He started to stir and his eyes flickered, Andrea quickly averted her eyes.  
"You should follow your own advice blondie, take a picture."  
"Aw sorry. You just look so cute while you're sleeping." She winked at him whilst laughing "Night Merle." She blew him a kiss before kicking the door open. What the hell just happened? He sat there for a while thinking to himself. Was blondie just flirting with him? The medication must of gone to his head. Finally he got himself up to his apartment, he definitely needed some sleep.

"Hey." She was greeted by the Governor who put his arms around her waist protectively.  
"Hey yourself."  
"How'd the run go? Sorry you got stuck with Merle."  
"It was fine, he isn't as bad as he used to be back when I used to know him."  
"He didn't try anything did he?"  
"No, stop worrying. If you were so nervous why did you ask me to go?"  
"I'm not nervous!" He paused, he didn't like yelling but he hated being called a wimp even more. "I just know what he is like, he goes after anything with a pulse."  
"Honestly he didn't try anything. He told me he knows about us and I think he respects that."  
"How did he find out?!"  
"Uh…" She definitely wasn't going to repeat what Merle said "he overheard us talking". She was worried about the look he was giving her but that passed when his lips crashed into hers. She responded until he slid his hand under the back of her shirt.  
"I'm really tired, it's been a long day, mind if we don't tonight?"  
"Aww come one darlin' it's been a long day for all of us, why don't we blow off some steam."  
"Blow off some steam!"  
"What?"  
"Blow off some steam? Is that all I am? Your workout after a long day?"  
"I didn't mean it like that."  
"Oh I know exactly how you meant it." Without another word, she stormed out of the building. She fell against a wall and buried her face in her hands. Why was she always so stupid? That's all men ever wanted her for, fun. Feeling like an idiot, she started sobbing into her hands. After a while she pulled herself together, don't let him win, she thought to herself. Andrea went back into the building, but not to the governors room.  
"Blondie? What ya' doin' here? It's like 3am." Melre stood there rubbing his eyes trying to get rid of his drowsiness. The bandage remained on his injured hand, soaked red and his prosthetic disarmed.  
"I need a drink." She walked straight passed him and into the living room.  
"Come in then." He said sarcastically whilst closing the door "So remind me again why you are here?" His voice was rough and tired.  
"I told you, I need a drink."  
"Yeah, yeah I got that part. Why do you need a drink at 3am? Shouldn't you and the Gov be all cosy?" She glared at him.  
"Fuck you! Why are all of you the same? You are all just pigs who are just looking for some fun! You never actually want to care about someone." She was right in front of him now, shouting in his face "You just get what you want and laugh about it with your friends or you get what you want and then you are too embarrassed to be seen with…" Her voice trailed off as her head fell onto his shoulder and she started crying again. Shit, what was he supposed to do now? He was never good with emotional women. Back in the day he used to pick up some bar skank that wanted to use him for the same reason he wanted her. He never had to deal with all of this. He likes Andrea a lot which made this situation all the more awkward. God he was turning into his pussy, he was never nervous when it came to women. Finally he manned up and put his arms around her and just let her sob into his shoulder, she paused slightly once he started to hug her.  
"Uh… you alright?" She looked up at him, she was still in his arms. What a stupid question to ask. "Never mind" She sank back into his shoulder and she put her own arms around him. He started to get uncomfortable but he knew that he couldn't tell her to fuck off, she needed someone to be there and she chose him. He could respect that.

Why was she here? In Merle Dixon's arms? All she wanted was to drown her pain in alcohol and who better to go to than Merle. Sheesh, after one day she was running to him looking for comfort, no wonder men took advantage of her. Of course she didn't love Merle, but it felt so nice to have his bold arms wrapped around her, she felt safe there. She also noticed he wasn't trying anything or taking advantage of this moment, he was just holding her and that made her smile.

"You feelin' any better?" His voice was shaky and that made her smile even more.  
"Yeah I am, thanks Merle." He nodded in response "Would you mind if I stay here for the rest of the night? I really can't go back to him at the moment." Oh great, god why did she have to make him so nervous? He wanted to respond but his mouth was clamped shut. Why was this happening? Merle Dixon never EVER got nervous around women.  
"Uh… ok." Took you long enough Dixon, he thought to himself.  
"Thanks." She smiled at him before they stood there in a long awkward silence.  
"I uh… I'm gonna' go back to my room just holler if you need anything."  
"Ok thanks" She flashed him another smile before he turned away. Maybe he was just sleep deprived and that was what was causing him to act so weird. Yeah, that's what it was, he will be fine.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**2 months later**

"Ok so that's the plan then. We go in, get Merle and get out." Rick announced to the crowd around the table.  
"Rick we can't bring that bastard back here!" Glenn cried.  
"Hey! That's my brother your talkin' about."  
"Yeah, the same brother who almost beat me to death, shot Michonne and threatened Maggie!"  
"I know what he did Glenn! But he's my brother and I'm gonna keep him in line. I just can't lose him again." He bowed his head.  
"We know Daryl" Rick place his hand on the bowman's shoulder "We aren't gonna discuss this any further. It's been decided, now let's all just get some rest we got a big day tomorrow." Maggie and Glenn disappeared into their cell without another word. Daryl remained seated next to Rick who was rubbing the back of his neck.  
"You sure you can keep him outta trouble?"  
"I dunno man." Daryl shook his head and retreated back to his sleeping bag.  
He just reached the top of the steps before someone called his name.

"Daryl?" He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. Carol.  
"Before you say anythin' I'm fine." He kept his back turned to her.  
"I know, you always are… I just wanted to say I'm glad your back… We… I… was worried about you." He stopped doing whatever the hell it was that he was doing and turned to face her.  
"Why do you care? No one else does."  
"We all care Daryl."  
"Please, no one cares about me all I am is the dumbass redneck-" She cut him off  
"Don't say that, you've changed so much, you earned your place. Everyone respects you Daryl, they are all a little on edge thinking about Merle, he did do a lot to Glenn and Maggie."  
"I know I know…" He took a seat at the top of the stairs "Why has he gotta' be such an asshole all the time?" She went and sat next to him "It's just when we were in that arena, the way he looked at me... it was like when we were kids. Tt was the same look he gave me when our dad used to walk through the door drunk…" She heard his voice go tense at the mention of his father "When Merle started throwing punches at me, I really thought he was gonna' kill me just to save his own ass. But he came through and saved me before him, just like he used to. I know he is an asshole but he is still my brother and he does give a shit, you just gotta' wait for the right moment ya know." She scooted over towards him and took his hand in hers.  
"Everything is gonna' be fine, like you said, you just gotta wait." She smiled at him before dropping his hand and walking back to her cell. "Night Daryl."  
"Night." It seems that she was the one person who understood him, the one person he could talk to about anything. Carol Peletier, she is the one person he knows cares about him. And he would be kidding himself if he said he didn't care about her because he cares about her even more than his own brother.

Andrea awoke and found herself tied to an old dentist chair. What happened? As she looked around the room she saw someone, a man unconscious on the floor in a pool of his own blood, as her vision cleared she saw he had some metal strapped around his right arm. It was Merle.  
"Oh my god. MERLE!" She tried to free herself from the cuffs but it was no use. Was he dead? Or had he returned as the dead? As she asked herself those questions the body started to move. She heard a moan escape from it. Shit. After everything she had to fight she would lose her life defenceless to a walker.  
"Ahhh." She hadn't heard a walker make that noise before, she stopped her struggle and listened out "Fuck!" That was definitely Merle, he wasn't dead, she started to smile  
"Merle!" he got to his knees and looked at her. "Oh my god, what did he do to you?" His face was battered, his nose cut up and bleeding. His right eye was black and looked as if it couldn't be opened, his bottom lip swollen and he had a cut running down his right arm.  
"Blondie, hey." She would've smiled but there was a strange pain in her chest when she looked at him in this state. It was weird, Merle was this bold, strong, undefeatable being and seeing him looking like he just got hit by a lorry wasn't sitting well with her. She felt her blood boil.  
"Merle what happened?"  
"Daryl and officer friendly broke in to save Glenn and his girl. They all made it out except for Daryl, he got caught by the governor, we were all called to the arena and I was called a traitor then they brought out Daryl… They tried to make us do a fight to the death, but in the end we got up and we were just about to escape together 'till we got caught in the gunfire. We got split up and then the Gov and four of the guys found me. That explains why I feel like I just got hit by a train." He chuckled but stopped shortly after as he started clutching his stomach. How could they hurt him this much? "How'd you end up in here?"  
"I was in the arena, saw what was happening. I saw them take you and I tried to stop them but Martinez knocked me out. When I woke up I saw you lying there on the floor, thought you were dead…"  
"Someone got a soft spot for ol' Merle?" He tried his best to smirk with his damaged face.  
"You just can't stop yourself can you." Andrea started laughing. She noticed he didn't have many restraints, they must have thought he was dead "Wait are you chained to the ground?" He looked at her as he attempted to stand with his arms and legs tied together.  
"Nope, free as a bird."  
"You can get my cuffs off. Then I can untie you and we can get outta here!"  
"Sounds like a plan." Merle used all of his strength to travel across the room over to Andrea. After a few minutes they were both free. They walked up to the locked door and listened to what was happening outside.  
"Philip you and Martinez can go, I am more than capable of keeping a locked door guarded."  
"If you're sure Milton." They heard the sound of footsteps slowly disappearing.  
"Milton!" Andrea tried to communicate through the steel door.  
"I'm coming hold on" The sound of keys rattled through the door. He didn't need much convincing. Slowly the door opened and Milton entered.  
"I can get you out but we have to hurry."  
"Why are you helping us?" Merle questioned the man.  
"Because I have finally seen what he is truly like. You don't deserve this. If you want to get out I suggest we leave now."

"Ok through here." Michonne lead Rick, Daryl and Carol through the small broken fence. They were now in Woodbury. Carol was the only person that volunteered to come and although Daryl was against it, she was willing to give Merle a chance. Plus he could protect her and not have to worry about what was happening to her back at the prison. Slowly they made their way through the alley ways behind the buildings.

"We don't split up, make sure we stick together." Rick stated as they continued their mission. Daryl went ahead and he saw three shadows coming around the corner. He waved his group back, signalling them to hide. Rick and Daryl stood next to each other with their weapons raised. Finally the figures came around the corner.  
"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't my baby brotha'"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Daryl went ahead and he saw three shadows coming around the corner. He waved his group back, signalling them to hide. Rick and Daryl stood next to each other with their weapons raised. Finally the figures came around the corner.  
"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't my baby brotha'"_

"Merle?"  
"The one and only." Their conversation was cut short.  
"Michonne!" Andrea ran straight towards her friend and hugged her. "I never thought I'd see you again."  
"What happened to you two?" Rick questioned.  
"Yeah bro you look like shit." Daryl started laughing.  
"This was your going away present from the Gov." They stopped laughing. Daryl felt as if he was to blame. Carol appeared from the shadows  
"Merle." Carol said, nodding her head slightly.  
"Well well well, if it ain't the little mouse, you've changed a lot. Guess I can accept my brothers choice in a woman for once."  
"Hey you best shut the hell up or I'll beat you worse than that bastard did." He hated when his brother teased him, especially since he did really like Carol and he didn't want his brother to ruin that.  
"Andrea! You're alright!" Carol said with a smile trying to change the subject.  
"Yeah, great to see you Carol. Merle's right you have changed, you look great." She left Michonne and hugged the older woman.  
"Who's that?" Rick said pointing towards the remaining figure.  
"I'm Milton, Milton Mammet." he extended his hand towards Rick which surprisingly he accepted.  
"We will tell you the story when we get outta here. The Gov has probably realised were gone." Merle added. Milton lead the way with Daryl who could track if anyone was around. It was clear. They were inches away from freedom when Martinez and the Governor stopped almost straight in front of them. Lucky the alleys didn't have any lights but they hid just to be safe. Carol let put a cough and Daryl clapped his hand over her mouth to muffle to sound. Shit! Carol thought to herself.  
"What was that?" The man with the eye patch asked his henchmen.  
"Best take a look." They slowly edged themselves towards the group. Running out of time, they looked at each other and decided that Daryl would take Martinez and Rick would have the Governor.  
"Ahh-" Daryl covered the man's mouth and held his hunting knife to his throught whilst Rick pressed his knife to the leader's temple.  
"Ahh Rick, why am I not surprised."  
"You might wanna shut the hell up If you don't want this bastard dead." Laughter filled the air, it was the Governors.  
"Please, do you really think I care about Martinez? I just kept him around because he's loyal and a good shot." He continued laughing, suddenly a gunshot overpowered the laughter.  
"AHH SHIT!" Daryl dropped his arm and Martinez dropped to the floor, dead. "My arm! THAT CRAZY BASTARD!" Blood started to pour out of the whole in his arm  
"Daryl!" Carol came running out of the shadows. Rick kicked the governor's hand removing then gun from his grasp.  
"Rick what the fuck are you waiting for? Kill him!" Daryl shouted at him through his agony.  
"It's not my call… Michonne… You can do the honours." After Rick's words, the man with the eye patch gave up his struggle, he knew he couldn't get out of this. She drew her sword and lined the point up with his remaining eye. She was going to enjoy this. Before she could see Daryl pulled Carol into his arms to hide what was about to happen from her, Carol could feel the blood pouring onto her shirt and Daryl's uninjured hand digging into her shoulder slightly from pain. It wasn't that she was too fragile to see what was happening, she just didn't need any more images keeping her up at night. Merle did the same to Andrea as she turned to him asking for comfort again. Milton sat there contemplating whether to stop this, he had to repeat in his mind that he deserved it. Rick hid the screams whilst Michonne took her revenge. After agonising 15 minutes the torture was over, it was done. He was dead, the governor was dead. Everything would go back to normal, they wouldn't constantly live in fear anymore. They left his tortured body on the ground next to Martinez before Rick casually put a bllet through both of them. Two less walkers in this world, he thought. Daryl was starting to feel faint from the blood loss and required Merle's help to get back to the cars.  
"Come on Darlena, almost there, don't fall asleep now".  
"Is he gonna be alright?" Carol questioned Merle.  
"Course, though as anything my baby brotha'." he gave her a reassuring smile. What happened to Merle Dixon, he truly had changed.  
"If you can wait a couple of minutes I can bring some medical supplies." Carol looked over at Rick who needed no convincing.  
"Be quick!"  
"I will." Milton shot off back to Woodbury in order to get the supplies.

It had been at least ten minutes and Milton still wasn't back. Carol was tending to Daryl's wound, it was hard to focus with his sleeves ripped off revealing his perfectly sculpted arms. She shook the thoughts out of her head, if she didn't keep the bleeding under control she wouldn't be able to see those arms again.  
"How you holding up?" She looked down at her patient.  
"Not great." He chuckled.  
"Milton will be back soon then we can go home, just think, no more Governor, no more living in fear, we will finally be free. Well as free as you can be in this world." She laughed and he just smiled at her. God she loved that smile, she didn't get to see it often, but when she did it always seemed to be saved for her.  
"I'm back!" Milton came rushing towards them, carrying at least five shopping bags.  
"What's all this?" Rick asked.  
"I grabbed everything I could." He loaded the three bags on his left arm on the truck "Those three are just medical supplies, the rest is food and water. Sorry it took me so long, it's heavier than it looks." Merle attempted to help but his battered state got the best of him and he fell to his knees.  
"Merle!" Andrea fell to his side and with help from Rick and they lifted him up "You gotta take it easy." He didn't respond, he hated the fact that he now couldn't do anything. Rick placed the last bag in the boot and they all got in the cars. Rick, Michonne, Carol, Daryl and Milton in one and Merle and Andrea in the other, Milton assisted in helping Daryl. Eventually he fell asleep due to the medication much like his brother had in his similar situation. Merle and Andrea drove in silence until she finally broke it, he was extremely glad.  
"How you feeling?"  
"About as good as I look." He was pissed at the fact he was now useless, he couldn't drive, he couldn't lift anything, he could barely talk.  
"Thanks." he gave her a confused look  
"For what?  
"For earlier in the alley, I really didn't need to watch that."  
"Oh… Yeah ain't nothin'." She took his hand in hers  
"I'm lucky I always have you around to protect me." She smiled at him and did a little laugh which made him feel even more awkward. There it was again, that same feeling she gave him that day she barged into his apartment. She removed her hand and went to change gears. They didn't say a word for the rest of the trip. He just sat there staring down at his hand, he could still feel her touch. What was happening to him?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Their long journey home came to end. It was over. The Governor was dead.

"They're back!" Carl shouted as Beth ran up to the gates with him. Both cars pulled into the prison and the two younger residents watched as everyone stepped out of the vehicles. First came Michonne who had blood splattered across her face, then Carol who's clothes were drenched in the crimson liquid. Rick was the next to show himself, he went over to help Carol with the unconscious Daryl who too was covered in blood. His own blood.  
"Dad what happened to Daryl?!" Carl ran over to the wounded hunter.  
"The Governor shot him…" His voice trailed off and Carl took a step back "He's gonna be fine, it was just his arm." Just as Rick was going to tell Carl about what had just happened back at Woodbury, Merle stepped out of the other car.  
"Why this is a mighty fine place you got goin' on here officer." You could just about see that he was trying to smirk through his swollen face.  
"Thanks, you'll be sleeping over in B block until we're sure you can be around everyone."  
"What you talkin' bout? You gonna keep me locked up on my own after I just found my brotha?"  
"Andrea will be there too. I have to make sure no one gets hurt, after what you did to Glenn and Maggie-"  
"Hold on a second I didn't do anything to the girl, I ain't like that!"  
"Don't argue with me, you have a permanent reminder of the last time you did that." Merle looked down at where his hand used to be and growled. Everyone entered the prison, and Merle started to put up a fight like he always did. It took four people, Rick, Tyresse, Glenn and Maggie, to get him into B block even with his injuries. He eventually got his prosthetic free and managed to hit Glenn around the face.  
"Get your hands off me!" Merle's voice echoed through the cell block. They finally got him locked up, giving the rest of the group peace of mind.  
"At least we have hands." He whispered under his breath whilst holding his now bloody nose.  
"What'd ya say to me Chinatown?"  
"Hey don't talk to him like that!" Maggie defended her husband.  
"Everyone just calm down! Maggie, Glenn go back to C block, now!" The leader rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath before continuing. "Tyresse go tell Michonne to bring Andrea in here, then have an early night, I'll take Daryl's watch."  
"Ok and you sure?" Rick gave him a nod. Tyresse left the two men alone. Merle gave the former officer his coldest look.  
"The only reason you are here is because of your brother and now he got hurt trying to save you so instead of beating everyone up why don't you think about your family for a change." Merle was shocked by the leaders words. Who the fuck does he think he is? But before he couldn't answer back the cell block door opened.  
"Thanks Michonne." Andrea smiled at her former companion before she turned to leave. She moved deeper into the cell block to find Rick standing in front of a locked cell.  
"Choose whatever cell, I'll be back to check on you in the morning." The stressed sheriff walked straight passed her with a blank expression and locked the cell block door behind him.

"Merle?" She edged closer to his cell not knowing what state he was in.  
"What the fuck do ya want?" His back was to her.  
"Look, I know it's hard-"  
"What do you mean '_I know it's hard' _you don't know shit Blondie."  
"I had a sister you know! I would give anything to have her back even for a minute. And here you are complaining because you can't do whatever the hell you want for once. Look around you! You just got your brother back! The same brother you've been searching for all this time. So why are you being such an asshole? Calm down and enjoy the time you have with him because you don't know when you are gonna lose him again. He could even be slipping away from you right now but of course you didn't know that because you haven't been paying any attention to him." Her words stunned him. He really wasn't expecting that and the worst part about it was that she was right. He completely forgot the reason he ended up here and he was being too much of an arrogant dick to realise what was happening to his brother. He refused to show his hurt so he got up and stood just inches away from her through the barred cell door, her fingers were laced around one of the bars and the look of pain covered her face. She didn't even look up at him and he understood why when he saw the tears on her face. Not again. Why did she always do this with him?  
"Uh… hey don't cry, it'll be alright." He had no clue what he was doing, god knows why she kept going to him for comfort. After his words she looked up at him, he gave her a soft smile which made her do the same to him. He slowly raised his bandaged hand and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Ya sister… She was a good kid and she's in a better place now, she didn't need to see all this."  
"Yeah… I… I guess your right."  
"Go to sleep and then ya can hassle me some more tomorra'." He chuckled before watching her move to the cell next to his.

The cell was black, only the sound of light breathing filled the air. After blinking a few times, the youngest Dixon looked over to his right and saw someone asleep in the chair. What happened? He couldn't remember anything, he tried to lift himself into a seating position but a random pain shot through his right arm causing him to fall back down. "Argh!" the sleeping figure woke as if by an alarm.  
"Daryl? You alright?" it was her, Carol, why was he even surprised? Who else would it have been? She knelt by his side and helped to sit him up.  
"What… what happened?"  
"When we were in Woodbury the governor shot you, you lost a lot of blood so we cleaned you up, gave you some medication and you were out in minutes." She smiled at him.  
"Dumb bastard, I'm gonna stomp his ass… wait… what happened to Merle?"  
"Merle is fine don't worry, he is in B block just to be safe. We really don't need anyone else getting hurt at the moment. And you don't need to worry about the Governor anymore Michonne gave him what he deserved, he won't ever bother us again."

"He's dead?" she nodded in response and he just grinned, the thought of that sick bastard rotting in hell made him smile through his pain. When he looked ahead his eyes locked with hers, she just smiled at him like she always did. Great now what? What was he meant to do? Lean forwards? Tell her to go away so he can get some rest? "Uh…"  
"Yes Daryl?"  
"Uh… Thanks for takin' care of me." he flashed her an awkward smile before looking straight ahead at the foot of his bed. She slowly leant towards him and placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered in his ear  
"Anytime" and a few seconds later she was gone… Had that really just happened? That was the second time she'd done that, why was she messing with his head? She was obviously kidding, no one had ever loved him so what makes her any different?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Daryl's eyes flickered open, and the memories from last night flooded his mind, not to mention the shooting pain in his arm. Carol really had to stop messing with his head, sure they had their fun and he got a few laughs out of it too but something was changing. He wasn't sure what it was but whenever he saw her he felt warm inside and when she touched him it left a fire burning on his skin. And worst of all, he was starting to hate the teasing, all they were doing was having a laugh since they were friends and that's just what friends did, but last night something changed inside of him.

"Good you're up." There she was, standing in his cell door holding a bowl and a glass of water, flashing him that smile. God she was perfect, he thought. _Get it together Dixon, _he thought to himself, _acting like a damn pussy. _He just nodded in response, she entered his cell and placed his breakfast down on the table next to his bed. She made sure that she got up early enough to make his breakfast since he was always the first one up and he didn't have watch, due to his injuries. He couldn't run off and avoid her this morning and for that she was thankful.

"How you feelin' today?"  
"Like I got shot." She laughed at his response, he was trying his hardest to get rid of her without actually telling her to leave him alone but he failed miserably. "Well you definitely don't look bad." She winked at him. Great she was doing it again, he had to sort this out.

She was looking forward to today, for the first time in god knows how long Carol Peletier woke up with a smile on her face. She felt so confident last night and she had no idea where it came from. Just seeing the effect she had on Daryl made her heart skip a beat, she cared about him so much, more than she liked to admit to herself. The reason she was looking forward to today was because she got to fuss about Daryl Dixon, she got to be around him pretty much all day which they hadn't done since back at the farm. She got to talk to him and care for him which is all she ever wanted to do besides stare at him, he was constantly on her mind, when he walked into a room with that leather vest on, cross bow on his shoulder and his perfectly sculpted arms on display her heart stopped. God he was perfect.  
"Uhh… Carol?" She locked eyes with him, her smile was soft and he wondered what it be like to kiss her, _Fuck Dixon!_ He shouted to himself in his own head.  
"Everything alright? You need some medicine for your arm?" For fuck sake why did she have to be so caring, sweet and such a flirt. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped, he couldn't tell her how he felt she would go running in the other direction or start laughing in his face.  
"Uh… Yeah, could do with a few pills." She noticed when he went to say something but stopped, she knew that wasn't what he had originally wanted to say but she didn't want to push him, at least not while he was in this state.

The eldest Dixon's eye flickered open, the memories of the yesterday flooded his mind, _Son of a bitch! _God his body ached so much, he couldn't move due to the pain. Bits and pieces of yesterday's events came back to him, he remembered being in Woodbury with the blonde, then Daryl showed up, then all he could see were fists and boots then black… Then he remembers running into the Governor after he found his brother and officer friendly's group and then they were here in this prison and blondie was crying in his arms, wait there was something missing, something happened at Woodbury with the Governor… DARYL! Daryl got shot! He shot up forgetting about his damaged state but as soon as he completed his action of sitting up the pain hit him like a ton of bricks "ARGH! Shit!"

Andrea woke straight away "Son of a bitch!" was all she heard. Yup, it was definitely Merle. His words echoed through the cell block they were in, could probably be heard by the others too. She rushed to her feet and stood in his cell.  
"Merle? What's wrong?" He didn't respond, he just sat there hunched over in pain. His head hung low, gosh she forgot about what happened to him back in Woodbury. She didn't really have time to remember as his cries woke her and she was up in a flash still half asleep. He just sat there breathing heavily and cursing under his breath every so often. She moved further into his cell and knelt by his side "Hey, what happened?" She tried to make eye contact with him but he couldn't move his neck and the eye closest to her was swollen shut. Not long after she entered his cell, Rick and Michonne had done the same  
"What the hell is going on in here? Everyone alright?"  
"Just fine fucking dandy!" Merle responded to the former officers question  
"He is in bad shape from what happened at Woodbury, can't move by the looks of it." Andrea informed Rick.  
"I'm fine! Where's Daryl? He alright?" He still didn't look up at them, he couldn't…  
"Daryl's fine, Carol's looking after him… I'm gonna go get Hershel, you two make sure he don't do any thang' stupid." And with that Rick was gone. A feeling of relief washed over Merle knowing his baby brother was alright, but the feeling was quickly replaced with pain, one of the worst pains he had experienced in his life. His father's beatings usually topped anything but for once this wasn't the case, he had never been in this much agony.

"Rick what the hell was that? Was that Merle? What's wrong?" Daryl had a panicked look on his face, this was one look he rarely showed people around him, Rick stopped by his cell looking for Hershel when Daryl started questioning him.  
"Merle's fine, his injuries from Woodbury are having an effect on him, he can't move."  
"Shit, he gonna be alright?"  
"Bout to get Hershel so we can find out." The sheriff dashed out of the room and left Daryl sitting there with his thoughts. His brother got hurt trying to protect him again. He couldn't help but feel guilty, this was his fault, why didn't he stick with Merle in that arena? They could've got out together but no his brother covered him in the middle of the gun fight making sure that he was safe. Looking down at his wound on his arm he started thinking to himself, _You fucking pussy, you deserve so much worse than that, your brother is paralyzed for the time being cuz of you. Even a punishment from dad would be going easy on you, worthless piece of shit… _He was lifted from his thoughts when Carol re-entered the cell. She just looked at him, she knew exactly what was wrong with him.  
"It's all my fault Carol." He said to her with his head hanging low. She sat next to him so close that their legs were touching, he didn't have the energy to be awkward right now not with the lack of sleep, Merle and his own injury. She took his hand in her own, he turned his head towards her and looked up.  
"Daryl don't you dare think for one second that this is your fault."  
"But it is! I didn't have to leave that arena in Woodbury, I should've stayed instead of running like he told me to. I fucked up again and all because I'm such a damn pussy. All he ever does is protect me and he always manages to get beat up in the process." Daryl never felt this much sympathy for his brother, hell, he just never felt sympathy ever. But this group, they changed him, with them he wasn't this cold shell of a person, he was real, with feelings he didn't even know he had and the longer he was with them the more these emotions surfaced.

She just sat there, his hand in hers, eyes locked onto his and she could see the water rising in his eyes, but he fought it off. This broke her heart, she never got to see him so broken and she wasn't used to it.

"Daryl, you did the right thing, I… We needed you. If you hadn't come back we would've never been giving the opportunity to kill the Governor, you just helped eliminate the biggest threat. If you hadn't come back we would've all been dead by now… Merle knew what he was doing, he would do anything to keep you alive and he also knew that you cared about us and that you would die for us any day. So he did the heroic thing and kept you alive so you could do the same for us." He just looked at her in shock, he really hadn't been expecting that, before she came in he had been giving himself shit and thinking that he deserved to be beaten to an inch of his life, but now being here with Carol it made him realise what his brother did for him and why he did it. He could finally start to consider that maybe it wasn't his fault, that his brother was just too damn stubborn and wouldn't have left with him anyway. His hand was starting to sweat and he was worried that she would notice and he thought his fears were confirmed when she dropped his hand, the shadow of where her hand had been was burning into his skin. He was about to walk off when she wrapped her arms around him, he was stunned by her bold move but a few seconds later he finally got the courage and hugged her back.

"I don't think I could've handled you not coming back that day… I… I care about you Daryl." She whispered in his ear, she felt his body tense at her words before he lifted his head and kissed her forehead "I care 'bout you too." The pain in his arm disappeared and he was left there with her in his arms feeling like the only two people in the world. He could've stayed like that all day.

"Okay son can you move your hand?" Hershel asked Merle. He tried his hardest but despite his efforts, his body wouldn't budge. All he felt was a surge of pain shooting through his entire body and his head thumping at every attempt to move.  
"Fuck! No I fucking can't move my hand. I can't move anything!" Merle sat there, he had never felt so useless.  
"Your gonna' have to rest for today then I will check back on you tomorrow. If you want I can give you some medication for the pain, it will also get you to sleep through most of the day, make it pass quicker."  
"Alright."  
"Can you lay back down?"  
"Course not."  
"I'll go get the medication, your gonna' need it since we have to move you." _Fuck! What the hell happened Dixon? How the hell did you end up like this?_ He was definitely not looking forward to what was coming, it would feel like getting beat up all over again with the added ache of his already saw body. A few minutes later Hershel returned along with Andrea and Daryl.  
"Why hey there baby brotha'."  
"How you feelin'?" Daryl asked with concern.  
"'Bout as good as I look." Daryl smirked at his brothers comment. "What about you? Been a while since you last got shot." Daryl's smirk disappeared, he really wasn't in the mood to think about the farm. Unintentionally, he glanced at Andrea who just stood there rubbing her neck while looking at the floor.  
"I'm fine, forgot how much of a bitch the pain was though." Merle was now the one smirking. Hershel walked over and gave the tablets to Daryl knowing Merle wouldn't let the old man help him. Hershel saved Merle the embarrassment and left the room with Andrea "Here dumbass, take these." Daryl placed them in his brother's mouth he then followed with a water bottle, he knew how much Merle hated being taken care of, he knew he felt like a baby but he really had no other choice. "Okay, Hershel what do we do?" Daryl asked as they stepped back into the cell.  
"You two are going to have to slowly push him back and Daryl remember to use you left arm, don't want them stiches ripping." They nodded in unison  
"You gonna' be alright?"  
"Fuck no, but it's gotta' be done so just get it over with." Daryl really didn't want to hurt him. Well, he had hurt him in the past but he didn't want to hurt him while he couldn't defend himself. He looked over to Andrea who took a place by his side and the each put their hands onto Merle as they slowly pushed him back into a lying position. After a lot of cursing on Merle's behalf they finally did it.  
"Shit that wasn't fun! Doc, them drugs better kick in soon!" They all left his cell except for Andrea who paused at the door.  
"If you need anything give me a shout." she flashed him a sincere smile before leaving him alone. It wasn't long before sleep took over his body.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Four weeks later

The Dixon brothers were finally on the mend, Daryl was starting to use his cross bow again and Merle's injuries were healing nicely although he was left with a few scars on his face and body but really it just made him look more dangerous and cool. They were finally together again, brother and brother, they didn't have to sleep with one eye open every night anymore. Everything in the prison was going great, the fences were secure, they figured out how to keep the number of walkers down, Maggie, Glenn and Merle were starting to get along since Daryl forced Merle to apologise, and of course there was no one threatening to kill them, for now.

It was easily the hottest day of the year, Rick, Glenn and Daryl went to check the fences for a few minutes and they came back sweating buckets. After Carol and Beth served everyone breakfast Rick called a group meeting. "Everyone, you've all been working hard lately, the fences are secure and it's way too hot to get anything done especially with the lack of water, so I've decided you can all have the day off" Cheers filled the room, it was true they had worked their asses off all year and a break was well overdue. Daryl and Merle were happy since this gave them the opportunity to fix up that old truck they found and luckily for everyone the men on the last run brought back a few cases of beer which were being kept cool in the freezing tombs on the prison, today was going to be a good day.

All the guys were sitting outside by Merle and Daryl's truck, beers in hand and having a laugh, even Carl was allowed to join in, no one complained since he was the one making most of the jokes. "So Darylina how's things with you and the mouse" everyone looked at Daryl and started snickering, even Daryl smirked  
"Shut up, don't talk to me about women when you've been eyeing Andrea like she was on display" They all started laughing again whilst Merle opened his bottle with his bayonet  
"Hey Dixon, you mind" Abraham said whilst holding his beer in front of Merle's face  
"Do I look like a fucking bottle opener….. Ah fuck you lot" The group hadn't stopped laughing all morning, the jokes were constant, this was the most fun they had since the world had gone to shit.  
"Where are the others?" Glenn asked the group, it took them a while to notice that the women hadn't even left the cell block  
"Haven't got a clue" Bob replied, next thing there was a creaking noise coming from the cell block and the door opened. They all turned their heads towards the noise and the women finally came out into the sunlight.  
"What the fuck?" Merle commented as they all watched the women come out wearing shorts and either cropped t-shirts, tied up shirts or bikini tops. They were obviously making best use of the weather. The guys sat there staring, this was something new, all of their mouths hung open in shock. They all had their someone to gaze at: Glenn obviously had Maggie, Abraham had Rosita (he wasn't all too surprised with her clothes), Bob's eyes followed Sasha, Tyreese and Karen, Carl was cheekily eyeing Beth, Merle couldn't keep his eyes off Andrea at best of times, Daryl's eyes were glued to Carol and that left one person for Rick. "Fuck! Darylina if you don't tap that soon I'm gonna beat you to it"  
"Don't you fucking dare!" Daryl punched his brother in the arm but his gaze couldn't leave Carol, her figure was just as good as a 25 year old model's, She was so beautiful he really had to stop being such a pussy, he had to tell her how he felt but that could wait a bit, he was pretty happy staring for the time being. Merle being the flirt that he was wolf whistled to the women. The girls turned around to see the men staring at them blindly and they all snickered, some winked, were as the others blew some kisses just to tease. After they finally snapped out of their trance they all started digging each other out  
"Hey Rick, Michonne got your tongue?" Glenn cheekily said to the sheriff who just started smiling  
"I'll tell you one thing boys, I could get used to this" Merle said whilst leaning back onto the battered truck and lighting a cigarette  
"Give me one of them" Merle threw the pack and lighter at his younger brother "It's gonna be a long day" everyone laughed again.

"God it's so warm! It's great!" Beth said to her group "Did you see them lot? Don't think I've ever seen something so funny in my life" they all laughed, it was so nice to finally feel the sun on their skin again. Carol hadn't worn this little for such a long time, she was extremely conscious of herself since she was a bit older than the others and at the fact that her body was lined with scars but Andrea assured her that no one would judge her, that her scars are what showed how strong she had become and she also added that they were pretty badass. So she gave it a shot, after facing walkers for three years she really didn't need to care about her appearance. It turns out she made quite the impression, she didn't miss Daryl and Merle eyeing her, that gave her that last little bit of confidence she needed. "Michonne, Rick couldn't keep his eyes off you. Have you two got a thing going on?" Andrea asked her friend  
"Nothing more than you and Merle" she said with a wink. They often caught the others staring not-so-discreetly over their shoulders, today was going to be so fun, they really didn't expect to get that reaction out of them and now they were going to tease them as much as possible. The girls separated into different groups, Maggie, Sasha, Beth, Karen and Rosita were together which left Michonne, Andrea and Carol who were now sitting closer to the gates. After finally settling down Carol looked over to see Daryl and Merle under the hood of that busted up old truck, she nudged Andrea who joined her in watching the Dixons. Merle had just discarded his shirt and Andrea… well she definitely wasn't disappointed even though his back was completely covered in scars, in fact it made her that bit more drawn to him. Daryl on the other hand he had his black ripped jeans on along with a sleeveless shirt, which drew attention to his perfect arms which were at work tightening something in the car. They looked as mesmerised as the men did when they walked out of the cell block, there was just something about those Dixons that couldn't let you look away.

"Oi Dixons!" The brothers turned around simultaneously "looks like you've got some admirers" Glenn informed them with a smirk. They both looked behind them to find Andrea and Carol looking directly at them, Carol blushed at being caught but gave Daryl a soft smile anyway he flashed an awkward smile back before turning around and resuming work on the truck, Andrea on the other hand didn't mind she even blew Merle a kiss to which he just smirked and gave her the bird before turning back around.  
"Gotta love that Dixon charm" Andrea's comment left them both in fits of laughter, Michonne laid there soaking up the sun, she couldn't get Rick off her mind, had he really been staring at her of all people? She would be kidding if she said she hadn't thought about Rick, he was definitely good looking, he was a good guy and he tried to protect the people around him, but did he really have any interest in her? No, today was just going to be about her relaxing, she could think about Rick tomorrow.

"Hey! Carol!"  
"Yeah?"  
"Have we got anything to drink?"  
"we have some dirty rain water from last week" she laughed  
"I'll go steal something from the others, be right back" All the women watched as Maggie got up and headed towards Glenn who started to get nervous at the sight of his beautiful wife. She used her hands to ask him to get up and meet her half way, which he did. When he finally reached her she through her arms around his neck and kissed him, all the guys started moaning, Glenn gave them the finger and started smiling at Maggie.  
"Okay, what do you want" he asked her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow  
"You know me too well" she laughed and place another kiss on his lips "could we get a couple cases of beer?"  
"I dunno, I might have to pry them from Merle's hands" they both started laughing "why don't you lot come over? We are acting like we're in school, sitting at opposite ends of the grounds" she smiled at his comment and nodded  
"We'll be over in a minute" she told him whilst walking away, Glenn retreated back to the others who either cheered or started moaning again, "They are coming over so they can have a few beers, this should be interesting" the former pizza delivery boy started laughing and the others joined in, Daryl took another drag of his cigarette, he was nervous of course, he could barely be around Carol at the best of times let alone when she looked like that, Merle could see his brother who was shifting uneasily, he had to sort out his pussy of a brother out.  
"What the fuck, get off me!" Daryl shouted at his brother who was dragging him by his collar  
"We'll be back in a minute" Merle said to the group, they went around a corner and Merle released his brother "okay lil brotha' we are gonna sort this out"  
"Sort what out?" Daryl asked whilst adjusting his shirt  
"You and the mouse, this is getting ridiculous"  
"Oh fuck you Merle! You don't know shit about me and Carol!"  
"I know that you're too much of a pussy to do anything about it! She's fucking head over heels for you and you tell me you can't see that? Sure she's nice but she would go out of her way to do anything for you, she always gives you that same damn smile, how can you not see it?"  
"I dunno" Daryl's head sank and his voice was similar to that of a guilty teenager  
"What's your problem? You're not a fag are you?"  
"Jesus Christ Merle! No I'm not some fag!"  
"Then what's up with you? I can tell you like her just as much so why haven't you done anything? Especially with a body like that" Merle smirked while Daryl just stood there clenching his fists "What's the matter Darylina? Mouse gotcha tongue?" Merle started laughing, after a minute the laughter stopped and Merle had a bloody nose  
"Screw you jackass! You wanna know why I'm not with Carol, it's cuz I don't fuckin' deserve her, there you happy now?!" Merle just stood there holding his nose and looking at Daryl. He really hadn't been expecting that "Fuck! You know what forget it!" Daryl started to walk off  
"Get your pansy ass back here!" He stopped in his tracks and turned to his brother "Watcha mean you don't deserve her? After the shit you've been through you deserve her and more"  
"it's just… I couldn't find Sophia… I couldn't protect her when the walkers broke in, I thought she was dead… I'm not good enough for her man, she needs someone who can keep her safe, and I couldn't even find a fuckin' kid!" Merle took his hand from his nose, cleared the blood on his trousers and placed it on his brother's shoulder  
"Look… you're a Dixon, you're strong and she knows that. Don't sit around on your ass crying all day because of that kid, you did what you could. So calm the fuck down and get out there boy, you've got a hot girl sitting over there waiting for you" Merle smirked at his younger brother who mirrored the gesture.  
"We best head back, you can go clean yourself up"  
"You gonna go for it?"  
"Maybe" The brothers laughed as they returned to the group. When Merle dragged him around that corner he really hadn't expected him to be, well as nice as he had been, he was pretty grateful since they didn't really talk like that much. The women had just come over and everyone looked shocked when Merle came back with a bloody face  
"Jesus Merle, what happened?" Andrea asked  
"Me and Darylina had a little chat" he started laughing, again.  
"Here I'll take you inside, clean you up"  
"Well blondie I won't say no to that" Merle left Daryl's side and followed Andrea inside the cell block. Daryl now had to face Carol alone, _come on how hard could it be._ He took a seat next to her and listened to the conversations going on around him. After he sat down all eyes were on him  
"What happened with you and Merle?"  
"He was being a jackass, had it comin'" no one dared to argue with Daryl, especially after he just smashed his own brothers face. He motioned to Rick to pass him another beer, he was definitely going to need it. He quickly glanced at Carol, she was so perfect, her body was unbelievable especially since she had a kid, her deep blue eyes shone in the sunlight, _wait what the fuck!_ Since when did he think about people's eyes? Yup he was definitely falling for her, hard. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Andrea closed the door behind her and Merle, the cold air from the prison caught her by surprise and sent a shiver down her spine. She lead Merle into Hershel's cell, she sat him down and used some water to clean his face. "Okay, so what the hell happened? You are the only person who manages to get Daryl this angry" Merle just smirked  
"Me and him had a lil chat about his woman"  
"Carol? Really? What did he say? Is he finally gonna make a move?"  
"Woah! Slow down blondie, one question at a time" she finished cleaning the blood from his face and neck.  
"Why hasn't he gone for it in the past? He's had his eyes on her since back at the farm."  
"He said some shit about not being good enough and how he can't protect her" Andrea looked at him  
"Seriously? It's probably got something to do with Sophia" Merle nodded and Andrea sighed "I best take a look at your nose, make sure Romeo hasn't broken it" Andrea lent in so their faces were close enough to feel each other breathing, she placed her hand on his face and gently pressed on his nose in different places, he hissed slightly from the pain "Doesn't seem to be broken, just a bit saw" they just sat there in silence for what felt like hours but could only have been a few minutes, Merle started to lean forward which even surprised him, but just before their lips met the sound of a screeching door filled their ears and they jumped apart. It was Hershel and Beth  
"You go ahead daddy, I'll check on Judith" They heard the lighter footsteps fading leaving the sound of crutches which were becoming louder and louder. He entered the cell  
"How's the nose?" the man in the door way asked  
"Ain't that bad, it's not broken" Hershel could sense the tension in the air, he had obviously interrupted something  
"Ok well Beth and I just came to check on things, come join us when you're done in here" He started to hobble away to find his daughter who was carrying Judith outside. Merle turned around to find Andrea looking directly at him, she really was beautiful, _Typical! Got a pretty little thing like that right in front of me and the old man kills it_, of course he wanted to kiss her but that wasn't it, he didn't just want to kiss her he wanted to hold her and that was something completely new to him, he had never felt this way about a woman before, he was the kind of guy that would get with a girl then never talk to them again, what made Andrea any different?  
"Uh… We best head back out there, don't want no one drinking my beer" she nodded and followed him out of the cell, just before the left the cell block Andrea put her hand on his arm and whispered in his ear  
"Nice try, maybe next time" he froze from her words and his skin was on fire from where her hand had been. He just stood there smirking, watching her hips sway in those barely-there shorts as she walked away, this girl was going to be the death of him.

Everyone was sitting together, chatting, laughing and for the first time since all this started they were living. They may not all be blood related but this was definitely a family. No one had touched Merle's drink which put him in a good mood, not to mention the close encounter he had with Andrea. The eldest Dixon looked over to see his brother and his woman sitting together, she wore that smile that she saved just for him and she always laughed at his (kinda lame) jokes no matter what they were about. For his own form of entertainment, himself and Glenn started making inappropriate hand gestures which made Daryl extremely uncomfortable, unfortunately for them Carol had noticed Daryl's change and looked straight at Merle and Glenn and caught them in the act, they tried to stop before she saw but they failed miserably and now she was giving them her death stare  
"Ah shit!" Merle whispered  
"Don't look directly at it" Glenn's comment made them both burst out laughing, it seemed that the beer had started to go to work. "Ow! What was that for?"  
"Grow up Glenn!" Maggie instructed her husband after slapping the back of his head. Daryl and Carol started snickering and went back to their conversation. He could talk to her all day, he loved the way she smiled when he made her laugh, and when they talked she was really patient and just let him talk which was something he didn't do very often, he had to tell her how he felt, it couldn't wait any longer.  
"Uh… Carol I kinda need to talk to ya"  
"Ok, go ahead"  
"could we go somewhere else to talk?"  
"Sure" she answered with a smile, they both got up and walked around the same corner that Merle and Daryl had just appeared from.  
"Get in there brotha!" Merle shouted to his younger sibling  
"Fuck you asshole!" Daryl responded before he and Carol disappeared around the corner, she lent against the wall and face him waiting for the news that he had to tell her. _Don't get your hopes up, it's probably nothing, or he wants to tell you that he likes someone else._ She thought to herself.  
"So what's up?" _ah crap, how am I gonna do this?_ His thoughts were messing up his plan.  
"I uh… Got something I wanna tell ya"  
"Okay, go ahead, don't worry it's only me" she smiled at him trying to ease his nerves. Great! What was he supposed to say? _'it is you, and I am worried because you're the most perfect thing in the world and your all I can think about day and night'_? before he could open his mouth again she placed her hand on his shoulder "Don't be nervous Daryl, I will never judge you, just get it off your chest" he looked at her, her blue eyes were shinning from the sunlight. _Just do it Dixon_.  
"M'kay, look Carol, your my friend and you've been there for me for years now and… and we could all be dead tomorrow… and I guess what im tryin' to say is-" his speech was cut short by an ear piercing scream, it sounded like Beth. The scream was followed by a gunshot  
"WALKERS!" Rick's voice filled the prison yard 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"_M'kay, look Carol, your my friend and you've been there for me for years now and… and we could all be dead tomorrow… I guess what im trying to say is-" his speech was cut short by an ear piercing scream, it sounded like Beth. The scream was followed by a gunshot  
"WALKERS!" Rick's voice filled the prison yard_

Carol gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Shit! Carol take this, we gotta go, now!" he pulled his back up knife from his boot and handed it to her "I know you can handle this, once we get to the others I'm gonna go help get the weapons and my crossbow so stay with Rick" she nodded, he looked around the corner to find a heard of walkers flooding the prison, they were closing in on the others who were running up to the cell block. "You ready?" she nodded again "Stick with me, don't leave my side" he grabbed her hand and pulled her around the corner with him  
"Oh my god! How the hell are we gonna get to the others?"  
"We're gonna head through B block, less walkers and I remember how to get back to C through the tombs. Let's go" They cut their way through the B block fence and sprinted to the prison, killing as little walkers as possible, they were so close to the entrance until a walker jumped on Daryl sending him to the ground and causing him to drop his knife "Shit!" he wrestled with the walker and surprisingly he was losing, its teeth were getting closer and closer to his face, _Really? After everything I've been through it's a walker that kills me._ Just as he was closing his eyes and preparing for what was about to come he felt the dead weight lift off of him, he glanced over to see Carol holding a bloodied knife standing over the corpse.

**A few minutes earlier**

"I really hope he finally tells her, it's been long enough" They were all gossiping about Daryl and Carol  
"Yeah, ever since the farm they've had that connection" Andrea adds, they continued laughing and drinking, and just enjoying this day off because who knows when they will get this opportunity again. Beth and Maggie were talking about the future, Beth was still optimistic about living another 3 years through the end of the world, well that was until…  
"AHHHHH!" Beth screamed as walker had latched onto her back and was aiming to take a bite out of her neck, just as its teeth were about to sink into her Carl had pulled his gun and shot the walker straight in the eye. Carl pulled her towards him and they all turned to see a heard pouring into the prison yard.  
"WALKERS!" Rick shouted trying to alert Daryl and Carol in the process. Another walker got too close and went after Andrea, Merle came straight up behind it and ended its second life. "Everyone inside! Now!" They all started running towards C block except for Merle and Rick who were covering Hershel. Glenn, Carl and Tyreese led the others inside. After everyone was inside, including Hershel and his body guards, they went to barricade the door, Merle walked around the cell block looking for anything to use to keep the doors shut, he came to a halt as his brothers crossbow caught his eye. "fuck" he whispered under his breath, he came back into the main area and asked "Where's my brotha?"

Daryl just continued to lay there, staring at her "Daryl! Can you hear me? Daryl!"  
"What?"  
"Daryl! We gotta go NOW!" she pulled him to his feet and they did a final push to the cell block, Daryl told her which door and they stood outside it together "What if it's locked?"  
"Then we're screwed" Daryl answered with an uneasy chuckle, he watched as she attempted to open the door and thankfully it worked, they were now making their way through the tombs.

"Merle just calm down!"  
"Don't tell me to calm down, my brotha is out there in the middle of a fucking heard!"  
"Look, Daryl knows how to get into C block through B, him and Carol should be in the tombs right now, so why don't you and Andrea go down there and help them clear it out so they can get back here" Rick informed  
"Fine, come on blondie" Merle and Andrea grabbed a weapon and left the others  
"Ok everyone, looks like a heard came on the day we least expected it, we knew the fences wouldn't hold over 50 walkers-"  
"But all you've been going on about is how fucking strong the fences are!" Abraham argued  
"Yeah they are strong, but nothing is made for keeping a heard out… I have a plan, Me, Tyreese, Abraham and Michonne are going to repair the fences. Maggie, I need you, Rosita, Sasha and Tara to distract most of the walkers from behind the fence and make sure you are completely spread out, we don't need to lose anyone else. Everyone else is gonna go up to the watch tower, take whatever weapons are left and take out the heard. We all know what we're doin'?" Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement, they finally spread out. Rick pulled his son aside along with Glenn "You two need to keep an eye on Hershel, protect him as best you can, same go's to Judith and Beth. I trust you two"  
"Dad what about you?"  
"I'm gonna be just fine Carl, now go on, I'll be back soon" Rick left the prison group with his three assistants.

They just kept running and running. Daryl made sure he stayed behind her so he could look out for her and protect her, he kept looking back on the door they locked, he could still hear the moans and the sound of the hinges slowly giving in to the weight of about 30 corpses. How the hell did this happen? One minute they were enjoying the nice weather and having a drink, then he was talking to Carol and within a second their lives were in danger again. He couldn't stop thinking about what was waiting for them when they reached C block, would their family be the very monsters they were trying to destroy, if there was anyone left would they have taken off without them?

Andrea and Merle walked through the tombs, they were on high alert after the events that had just occurred. She watched him, his moves were urgent and unsure and she definitely wasn't used to it. His face said it all, he was worried, of course he was, his baby brother was out there in the middle of a heard and he'd only just got him back. "Merle?"  
"What?" she could hear the pain in his voice, she had never seen him like this in fact even Merle hadn't known himself to be like this.  
"He's gonna be fine" he stopped and turned right in front of her so his face was inches away from hers  
"How the hell do you know? He's out there right now with that stupid mouse who looks like she's about to snap from being so thin, he's practically alone and you want me to think he's gonna get here without a scratch?! Dumbass don't even have his crossbow!" he pause for a moment "I can't fuckin' lose him again alright!" his breathing became heavier as she placed her hands on the sides of his face.  
"Listen, your brother is just as strong and stubborn as you, after everything he's been through no walker is gonna kill him. And do not underestimate Carol, she would lay down her life for your brother, not to mention she is lethal with a knife so he is in safe hands. So you gotta stay strong because if he sees you in this state you won't live it down, I can just here it know Merle Dixon turns soft." He just stood there smiling and staring into her eyes, he pressed his forehead against hers.  
"Hmm looks like we better come back another time Carol" Merle and Andrea turned around to see Daryl and Carol, covered in blood and dirt, standing side by side smirking at the pair.  
"Why you gotta be such a cockblock lil' brotha'?" Andrea engulfed Carol in a hug whilst the brothers just laughed and nodded at each other meaning 'glad to see ya'. The sound of metal smashing to the ground filled the tombs  
"Shit! The geeks got through, we gotta get some weapons and clear 'em out" They all rushed back to C block and shut every door they passed hoping to slow the walkers down. They got to the main area and stopped to catch their breath, after looking around they found all the weapons were gone, luckily Daryl's bow was still in his cell. They looked at each other in confusion, where the hell was everyone? They stood there for a moment until they heard gunshots, a lot of them too.  
"The watch tower!" Andrea informed.

Rick lead his small team to the fence, the walkers finally stopped entering the prison which meant if the others could distract the strays in the field long enough they could lift the fence up in no time. Rick turned to find the four women completely separated, killing the walkers through the fences. Tyreese and Abraham brought the wooden logs towards the fences whilst Rick and Michonne lifted them up "You sure this is gonna work Rick?" Tyreese was concerned with the leader's plan  
"It's just until tomorrow, then we are gonna torch these fences together and make sure they stay that way, then over time we will add more and more reinforcements. We won't make this mistake again" The team nodded and resumed work, it was difficult at first but after a while they go into an efficient routine even though they did have a few close encounters with the walkers.

Daryl banged on the guard tower door and called to everyone inside that it was them. After a while Glenn let them in, Carol explained what was going on and convinced them to come and help clear out the tombs before it was too late. Carl, Beth, Judith and Hershel stayed in the tower and continued to eliminate the walkers in the yard. As they re-entered the tombs, both Dixons went first with their unofficial women behind them, Daryl's mind was constantly on Carol, thinking about what might happen next, and if he does die today, then his mind falls onto what he never got a chance to say. Merle on the other hand, he was having a hard time, what the hell was he feeling? It was new and he didn't know what it meant, all he knew was that he would protect Andrea with his life and that definitely was something he had never felt before, maybe not even for his own brother.

Before anyone had a chance to prepare themselves walkers swarmed the tombs, Daryl abandoned his bow for the time being since he didn't really have to worry about noise, they all backed up but fired without hesitation, they kept dropping one by one, Daryl was finally starting to consider that he might live to fight another day and if he did it definitely wouldn't be without Carol. "Merle, I'm out" The eldest Dixon through his brother another clip before continuing firing.  
"How many more of 'em do ya think there are?" Merle turned to his brother who was reloading, Daryl just shrugged his shoulders, he then set his eyes on Andrea who was wielding her gun like she had been born that way, confidence covered her face, she stood strong and continued to fire without ever flinching. Maybe he knew what he was feeling and he just wasn't used to it, and what was weird was that he didn't want to push this feeling away, no he wanted to experience it, he wanted a relationship for the first time in his life and who knew that he would have to be in the middle of some dark prison tombs fighting for his life, yet again, to realise it.

"Push!" Rick cheered them on, they were almost done, they just had to push this last log in place. He lifted his hands for a moment to re-adjust and when he placed it back down it brushed Michonne's, he looked at her for a moment she was smiling straight at him "Sorry" he told her barely above a whisper  
"What for?" Her question was rhetorical and left Rick smiling to himself for quite a while. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks every time he looked at her, he wondered if she like him too then he started to blame himself for thinking about someone else like that, it had only been a couple of years since Lori died, was it too soon? In fact when was the right time to move on? He continued to let his thoughts run through his mind as the job of fixing the fence continued.

A thud rung through the tombs as the last walker dropped to the floor, they did it. "Woo now that's how it's done, nice job y'all" Merle praised the group, Andrea smiled at him and he returned the gesture. Glenn lead everyone out of the tombs and back to the prison where Rick and his team were waiting in the cell block, they greeted with hugs  
"Everyone, you were pushed today, the one day you thought you could forget about the end of the world and just relax. Even though today didn't go quite as planned you pulled through and together we rebuilt what was broken, these tests make us stronger and we have shown that. So well done to you all, we will stay inside for the evening and I'll take watch with Michonne" everyone applauded Rick, even Merle who's claps sounded more like he was fighting his way through a metal wall. Practically everyone went to what they now used as the dining room and finished the rest of the alcohol so they wouldn't be tempted in the future. Daryl however retreated back to his cell, he sat there playing with the tip of one of his arrows when Carol knocked on the door  
"Mind if I join you?" Daryl nodded and watched as she sat in the chair by his cell door "You alright?" he looked at her and shrugged, he didn't know what the hell was wrong with him, it was a mixture of everything. Silence filled the cell for a good five minutes  
"when that walker took me down, I dunno what happened, it was all so fast, must'a hit the back of my head cus I went dizzy and I couldn't get the damn thing off me, thought that was it, after everything we've been through I thought I was gonna die by a walker" Carol stared at him for a bit before taking a seat next to him on his bed. She took his hand in her own, he startled her when he began to talk again "And the only thing I could think 'bout was you… 'bout how I couldn't protect ya, about how I couldn't find Sophia for ya and about how much I care about ya…" she dropped his hand and he bowed his head in shame, she obviously thought he was stupid for saying what he did. He flinched a little when her hands came up to his face and turned him so he was looking directly at her, she leaned in and kissed him, he was surprised at first but quickly responded. His hands ran through her hair and hers fell down to his neck, it was perfect, it was better than either of them could've ever imagined, he wanted her for so long and now she was here in his arms kissing him as if they were the only two people in the world, she pulled away and looked directly into his perfect blue eyes  
"Don't you ever blame yourself for what happened to Sophia, you did everything you could and more" she smiled at him "You said that I've been there for you when really it's the other way round, you helped me every step of the way, if it wasn't for you I don't think I would've come back from her death, you saved me Daryl and I can never repay you for that" he saw a tear form in her eye and he pulled her into an embrace, they just sat there in silence with his arms wrapped around her.

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks so much for your support so far. If you could leave a comment I would be really grateful. I enjoyed writing the Caryl in this chapter ;). Don't forget to favourite and follow if your enjoying the story, i'll try and update again soon.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The evening was quiet, the odd drink here and there but nothing exciting, Merle noticed his brothers absence but when he realised that Carol too was missing he just smirked and decided to search for Daryl and his woman later. Everyone retreated to their cells for the evening, after today's events Merle wasn't up for sleeping so he decided to relive officer friendly and the samurai from watch. "Come in" Rick shouted to the unknown visitor, Merle entered and nodded at the two.  
"You two get some rest, I'll take watch" Michonne and Rick stared at each other surprised, they still weren't used to Merle Dixon being nice  
"You sure? You had a long day too"  
"Not really in the mood for sleepin', I'll wake ya up if anythin' happens" they would've normally protested but they were really tired and could use the rest.  
"Alright" Rick paused as he and Michonne got up and headed for the door, they passed Merle and Rick nodded at him as a sign of saying 'thanks'.

Merle let out a sigh as he sat himself down, he never liked to admit he was old since he never acted his age but today had taken its toll on him, his right arm and stump ached and when he finally removed his prosthetic he found his stump was bleeding. He was shocked to say the least, it hadn't done that since he started working for the governor back when his wound was fresh. He found his bandana in his back pocket and wrapped his stump up for the time being, he could dress it properly when he finished watch.

Andrea sat in her cell ,she and Michonne shared, staring up at the ceiling thinking back over today about how much of a close call it had been, if Merle hadn't been there when the heard first broke in she would've been dead by now. The thought of Merle made her smile, she thought back to their moment in the tombs when they almost kissed, granted she'd was so glad to have Carol and Daryl alive but she wondered what it would've been like to kiss him. She smiled again, to many thoughts were running through her head for her to get any sleep now, she decided to go see the man from her thoughts and join him on watch.

Rain smashed against the windows of the watch tower, Merle sat back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table in front of him, listening to the rain fall. _Damn, guess we really should'a made the most of today_ he chuckled to himself when he heard the sound of the cell block door, he got up and went to the window so he could examine the source of the noise. The rain made it hard to see but he could make out someone running towards the guard tower, definitely wasn't a walker since it was too fast, guess he would have to wait and see who it was.

She shivered as she shut the door of the watch tower, dropping her wet coat off her shoulders Andrea began her ascent up the stairs. The unknown person knocked on the door and Merle told them to come in, Andrea shut the door behind her, she shivered and hugged herself for warmth but still gave Merle a beaming smile. "Jesus girl, watch'a doin' runnin' around out there? Your gonna make yerself ill" he got out of his chair and walked over to the soaked Andrea who stood by the door, he shrugged off his black wife beater shirt and placed it over her shoulders, leaving him in his black cotton tshirt.  
"Thanks" she smiled at him again "couldn't sleep so I thought I'd join you on watch"  
"Well aren't you kind" he said with a wink as he walked back over to his chair, she took a seat on the table in front of him "so how's my brother and his woman?" he asked smirking, she mimicked him as she replied  
"I dunno they never came back, I passed Carol when she was on her way to her cell, she looked happier than normal" she gave a slight giggle  
"My brotha' has always been an alien when it came to women, this one time-" they fell into conversation about their siblings and they shared some of their funniest and favourite memories, Merle didn't have to many since he wasn't there for Daryl much when they were kids and when he was he never really looked out for him.

They had been talking for hours, he laughed as she stood up re-enacting one of her and Amy's fights, he loved the way her eyes beamed when she was excited, _Jesus Dixon, get a grip_ he thought to himself as he watched her jumping around and pacing. She caught him off guard when she trod on her shoe lace and fell straight onto his chest, they landed with and small hiss of pain, she lifted her head up with an apologetic look, her hands still planted against his bold chest. He looked down at her beautiful face, this was his chance, he leaned and closed the last of the space between them. Their lips met, it started off slow and passionate but she could sense his want as his tongue slipped over her bottom lip begging for entry, once she granted him, access their tongues met causing Andrea to moan, Merle smirked against her lips before standing up and pushing her slowly backwards until her back collided with the wall. His he pressed himself against her so their body was flush, he moved from her lips and trailed kisses down her neck, she slide her hands into his hair as he moved further down her body. He stopped at the top of her vest, she understood and removed her top and watched as he stared for a moment, he simply smiled at her beauty and kissed her collar bones causing her to moan again, he moved down and grasped her breast using his thumb to work her now hardening peak  
"ugh… Merle" he loved the way she said his name, it turned him on even more. When he stood back up and looked her in the eyes he felt her hands fall from his hair, one cupped his neck and the other his crotch causing him to growl  
"fuck" he cursed under his breath, _god she's good _he thought as he went to devour her lips once more, he started to undo the top of her jeans when the sound of footsteps echoed through the tower, they sprung apart, Merle tossed Andrea her vest as she went to hide.

"it's open" Merle shouted to the person who fucked up yet another moment between him and Andrea, he kept his cool as the visitor entered  
"Mornin' Merle" the former officer nodded at him "thought I'd come and check on things, you really been on watch all night?" Merle hadn't even noticed the sun rise, _shit, mornin' already? _  
"Yeah, couldn't sleep so thought I'd do somethin'"  
"well thanks, I can take over if you want? Carol is probably up and making breakfast now" he swore at himself whilst thinking of an excuse, he didn't know what to say so he did what he did best, lied.  
"Speakin' of Carol, Daryl told me he wanted to talk to ya, somethin' urgent" it was always a safe bet to lie about his brother since he was normally up before everyone else.  
"oh ok thanks, I'll be right back" Rick took of down the stairs, once the door to the tower closed Andrea came out of the tiny cupboard in the room, now fully clothed and smirked at him, he walked over to her and put his hand and arm around her waist  
"So where were we?" she asked as her hands crept up to his neck pulling him in for another kiss, after a few seconds he pulled away  
"as much as I'd like to pick up where we left off, officer friendly is gonna be back any minute and he would have my ass if he knew what we'd been doin' up here" he smirked as he looked at her eyes  
"Alright Dixon, maybe tonight we can finish up and see if you're as good as you say you are" she winked at him as she left the guard tower leaving him behind.

Rick returned with two cups of the worst coffee he had ever tasted, he placed the cup in Merle's remaining hand "Daryl said he didn't know what the hell you were talking about"  
"hmm, musta' dreamt it when I was tryin' ta sleep" Rick rolled his eyes  
"Saw Andrea on the way back here" he smirked into his cup as he took another sip, he saw Merle tense a bit  
"yeah she just came up to check up on things, see if anythin' had happened last night" Rick nodded in approval but had a devious grin on his face "What the fuck is wrong with ya?"  
"Nothin'… let's go get something to eat" Rick got up and headed for the door "by the way, next time you two spend the night up here, tell Andrea to remember her coat, don't want her freezing now do we?" another smirk formed on Rick's face as he stood by the door waiting for Merle's reaction. _Fuck he's good _he cursed at himself,Merle mirrored the deputy's grin.  
"Will do officer" Merle gave him a salute before he exited the tower.

Everyone gathered for breakfast, they all sat together as a giant family and for once Merle felt like he was a part of something. He wasn't just there to do the dirty work or be bossed around, they valued his opinion and treated him as an equal, well once he proved himself. Maggie and Glenn were still a bit weary of the eldest Dixon but were learning to live with him, Glenn had been on a lot of runs with Merle and he learned that he was pretty fun and nice guy when he wants to be, not to mention that he saved Glenn's ass quite a few times. Daryl helped Carol dish out the plates, once everyone was fed he made sure she got some food before taking his own helping and taking a seat next to her. Merle smirked at his younger brother who started blushing and sinking down into his seat, Andrea tapped him on the shoulder as she came a took a seat next to him  
"How are you this morning?" she asked him with a smile  
"Not too bad blondie, didn't get much sleep but I definitely ain't complainin'" he winked at her and she rolled her eyes.  
"Everyone, I know you had a big day yesterday but I'm planning on making a run to a town that's pretty far out north, we haven't checked much up there and I'm hoping there might be some supplies that we can bring back so we can start preparing for winter, I'm gonna need three volunteers" Michonne raised her hand and Rick nodded in response "ok great, anyone else?"  
"I'll go" Merle turned around to find that it was his brother who had volunteered  
"As much as we value your help on runs Daryl, your still injured and I'd rather have you here protecting everyone than out there ripping up your stiches" Daryl grunted but nodded since he knew that Rick was right, he wasn't too annoyed since even with his injury Rick still trusted him to take charge while he was gone. Andrea tapped Merle on the shoulder and whispered in his ear  
"Maybe we should go, I could really use a break from this place" he shrugged his shoulders  
"Alright why not" he lifted his prosthetic in the air for the group to see "Hey officer, me and blondie will go" everyone looked at them before Rick nodded  
"Ok then, we will head out at first light tomorrow so make sure you're ready" the group dispersed and went about their usual routine for the day.

**A/N: Hey everyone hope you're enjoying the story so far, don't forget to leave a review, enjoy the rest of your evening/day wherever you are .**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The car was packed and ready, everyone had gathered around to say their goodbyes to the small group, Rick announced that they should be back within a few days. Carl no longer hugged his father but gave him a nod which said it all, he was noticing what his little boy was turning into, he can't let this world ruin him so he needed to sort him out, that is if he wasn't too far gone. They drove through the gates which Daryl shut behind them. "Alright so what exactly are we lookin' for anyway?" Merle questioned the leader.  
"Anythang and everythang, we gotta grab whatever we think will help us get through the next winter" Merle nodded and relaxed back into his seat, Andrea turned her head to look at him, he looked like a bored teenager the way he was sat, running his fingers up and down his metal arm, she gave him a slight smile which he couldn't see and went back to looking straight ahead. He could feel her eyes burning holes in him but he chose not to react, he had to talk this out with Andrea and he didn't want to mess with her head until he got his around what was going on between them. He had never been so confused in his entire life.

Rick thought this through whilst he drove in silence, this should be a relatively easy run, go to a few towns and scavenge what they could, then set up camp and repeat the same thing for another day or two. They had been driving for at least 4 hours, they were heading up towards North Carolina on route 85, Rick slammed on the breaks causing everyone to jerk forwards "What the fuck! Almost killed us back here! What's going on?" Merle took a look out the window and cursed under his breath, they had reached the town of Charlotte to find it completely over run, Rick started to reverse and turn towards route 77, looks like they were taking the long way round.

After another 3 hours of driving they decided that they should start looking through some small towns and set up camp for the night. They found a town close to a large creek which meant they could have a wash and load up on water. "Alright we'll split up, Michonne and I will take the east side of town, you two take the west and we will meet back here at sun down". Everyone nodded and head out to scavenge their side of town.

"Merle wassup? You seem really out of it" Andrea turned to him with a look of concern on her face  
"I dunno darlin', thinkin' bout a lot of shit"  
"What are you thinking bout Merle?" in her head she already knew it was to do with her, but she couldn't pin point exactly what it was, whether he was regretting that moment in the watch tower or trying to think of a way to replay those events right now she couldn't tell.  
"Well blondie I guess I'm thinkin' bout you" he chuckled after his words and she nodded signalling him to continue "I ain't good with all this sharin' your feelin's shit but I wantcha to know that if anythin' does happen with us that I ain't gonna dump ya ass after" she smiled at his words and grabbed his good arm, causing him to turn towards her, she snaked her arms around his neck and looked up at him  
"Merle Dixon, you got a bit of a soft spot for me?" she smiled up at him and he just smirked  
"You know what darlin' I guess I do" he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him, she giggled and planted a kiss on his lips, he took her bottom lip between his lips eliciting a moan from her, he smirked and deepened the kiss, he started to move his remaining hand underneath her shirt when they heard a gunshot, they broke apart instantly and started to sprint to the east side of the town.

They came to a halt in the middle of one of the streets, they couldn't believe the scene in front of them, a heard of at least 100 walkers was flooding the town Rick and Michonne running towards them with the heard following "BACK TO THE CAR! GO NOW!" he didn't have to be told twice, he grabbed Andrea's hand and rushed back to the car, it wasn't until they got inside did they realise that rick had the keys "you've got to be fucking kidding me" Merle cursed as he slid underneath the steering wheel and began to hotwire the car, he couldn't save Rick and Michonne if he didn't have the car so this was the only option, he finished in record time and slammed his foot down on the peddle and the jolted forwards towards their friends.

The car screeched as Merle hit the brakes and spun the car, he shouted out of the window "Hurry the fuck up!", Rick and Michonne pushed just that more and sprinted as fast as possible to the car, they had opened the doors for them allowing a quicker escape. They practically dove into the car and slammed the doors shut, Merle accelerated down the road and away from the heard, they all breathed a sigh of relief "Did you guys get anything?" Merle broke the silence  
"No" Rick paused as he tried to catch his breath "heard… found us… pretty quickly" Merle just nodded  
"Alright so where now officer?"  
"Keep driving up… 85 then… do a right… onto 66… head up to Alexandria" no one argued with Rick's plan and they drove in silence, the only noise was the car engine and the two in the back trying to catch their breath "I'm getting to old for this" Rick announced and got a few laughs out of the group.

They drove for a few more hours, Michonne and Andrea were asleep in the back seat. Rick was driving and Merle was slowly drifting off whilst supporting his head with his hand. He continued driving, they were almost at Alexandria which meant they could set up camp and start scavenging tomorrow, Rick was beginning to get a little stir crazy since he was constantly stuck in that tiny car with three people but he kept in under control. They passed a sign that had in large letters ALEXANDRIA, they were here finally.

He slowed down as he entered the large town, there were barely any walkers in sight, he hit Merle's arm causing his head to fall, he jolted awake and was alert in seconds "What's going on?!" Rick kept his face serious  
"We're in Alexandria, this don't seem right there are no walkers…"  
"fuck me we're in the middle of some big ass town and we haven't got any geeks bustin' down our windows, this ain't good" the rounded the street corner and the could see, large gates that went down the entire road  
"Merle, you seein' this?"  
"Yeah… It's bigger than Woodbury!" they stared in awe until 3 snipers and 5 men with machine guns stepped in front of their vehicle "aw crap!"  
"STEP OUT OF THE CAR AND GET ON YOUR KNEES, IF YOU RESIST WE WILL FIRE, YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS, TEN…" one of the guards called to the prison group "NINE"  
"Shit!, Michonne… Andrea wake up!" the women woke up rather quickly and questioned what was happening whilst the guard outside continued the countdown.  
"SIX"  
"We're surrounded, we gotta get out cus we ain't got enough ammo to fight back with" the hesitantly opened the car doors and raised their hands.

Four of the men came up behind them, removed them of their weapons and harshly forced them onto their knees, the guard that counted them down grabbed his radio "yeah… we got 'em" Rick looked at Merle, it sounded like they were waiting for them, trying to hunt them down.

Minutes after the guard had assured the person over the radio that they had the group, a tall, muscular man wearing black jeans and a studded black biker jacket approached them, his black hair was shaved close to his head and he was wielding a wooden baseball back covered in barbed wire. Merle knew these kinda guys before the world went to shit and he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't the slightest bit worried, he knew exactly what these men were capable of. The guy in the leather jacket stepped forward "Which one of you pricks is the leader?" his voice was deep, the guard who summoned him motioned towards Rick  
"That one" he towered over Rick then slowly came down to his level  
"Hi, Rick, isn't it? I'm Negan, And I do NOT appreciate you killing my men. Also when I sent my men to kill your men for killing my men you killed more of my men… Not cool. Not fucking cool" Rick suddenly realised what he was going on about, he thought back to before Merle and Andrea had re-joined the prison, a group of about four men told Rick, Michonne and Maggie to hand over their supplies, he signalled for Michonne and Maggie to kill three of the four Men and sent back the last one to warn his group not to mess with his. He then remembered about a week or two later a larger group of about ten men who threatened them in the name of Negan for killing their men, they refused their so called "fate" of death and killed those men too. "You got no fucking idea how not fucking cool that shit is. But I imagine you'll be up to speed shortly. Yeah… You're going to so regret crossing me in a few minutes… Fuck yes, you will."

**A/N: For those of you who know negan and the comics... SURPRISE! There is gonna be a lot of dialogue in the next few chapters so bare with me****, both groups have a lot to say :) Please review with your thoughts and suggestions, thanks for all the support so far.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Take 'em inside, we have a lot to talk about" Negan smirked, his men began to drag the prison group inside, Merle resisted the most and received a right hook around the face.  
"Fuck!" he cursed as his nose started bleeding, how many more people were gonna break his nose? Andrea cringed at his pain, she hated to see him like that but there was nothing she could do. They were forced to the ground yet again, Negan swung his bat around like a lasso at his side. "We've been watching you for a long, long time… You see Rick, whatever you do… Not matter fucking what… You DO NOT mess with the new world order." He stopped swinging his bat and started to pace back and forth calmly in front of them, much like a teacher would in detention. "The new world order is this, and it's VERY simple, so even if you're fucking stupid… Which you may very well be… You can understand it… Ready? Here goes… Pay attention" he stopped in his tracks and face all four of them "give me your shit or I will kill you" he started laughing.

Merle looked at Rick who had and look on his face of anger and disgust, Negan continued his lecture "You work for me now, you have shit—you give it to me. THAT'S your job. I know it's a mighty fucking big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly mother fucking will. You ruled the roost, you built something, you thought you were safe, I get it… But the word is out, You are not safe… Not even close. In fact, you're FUCKED. And you're even more fucked if you don't give me what I want" Negan turned around and whistled to his Thirty men who were surrounding them, Four of them left. Negan began humming a nursery rhyme which made the entire groups skin crawl, this wasn't going to be good.

The four men returned with two bodies, a man and a women's. They had black sacks over their heads which were tainted crimson, they weren't struggling, they must have been unconscious. They all exchanged confused glances until Negan lifted the black and now red sack off of the man's head. The person's head was hanging low between his shoulders, Negan grabbed the man's chin and lifted his face into view… It was Daryl…

Merle's head began to spin slightly, his baby brother was right in front of him, unconscious. He had a deep cut that ran from the temple on the left side of his head, all the way down to his jaw, it then curved down his jaw and stopped in the middle of his chin. There was blood running from his nose, his lips and the giant cut running down the side of his face. Rick's, Andrea's and Michonne's eyes went wide from shock, Merle on the other hand could only feel anger. "Daryl…" the words fell from his lips, he looked away from his damaged brother to find Negan smirking, he was definitely getting a better reaction than he hoped for. Before Merle could scream at him he walked over to the woman and removed her black sack… This was the one person they weren't expecting, Carol Peletier. "Carol!" Andrea shouted to her friend who's head hung like Daryl's… lifeless.  
Carol was in worse shape than Daryl, her forehead and cheeks were black and blue with bruises but the worse feature was that they had cut her ear to ear, blood had completely soaked her neck and tainted her skin red. The four men dropped the bodies and they fell to the ground, hard. Rick and Merle stood up, Anger raging within them, they went to jump at Negan but were grabbed by the shoulders and thrown backwards onto the ground. Once they were back onto their knees Merle shouted at Negan "YOU FUCKIN' ASSHOLE IM GONNA KILL YOU, I SWEAR!" Negan began to laugh and walk over to Merle, he lowered himself down so he was right in his face "Stop pissing you pants, they're alive… For now. So Daryl and Carol here they were the first we had the pleasure of meeting, shame we had to beat the shit out of them, they were so cute" he smirked again "My men here came knocking on you prison door and they raised their guns" he walked over to Rick "You need to learn to teach your people some manners" he lightly and playfully hit Rick on the cheek. "Next time someone comes to your door… you fucking let us in! We own that door. You try to stop us—we'll knock it the fuck down. Understand?"

Rick glared at him "No answer? Well, you didn't think you were going to get through this without getting punished, now did you?.. Line them up" One by one the rest of the prison group were brought inside, struggling against Negan's henchman's hold, the first four that were captured stared in shock as their entire family were brought in, Daryl and Carol continued to lay on the floor, puddles of blood growing beneath their faces.

Negan raised his bat and held it by his side "I don't want to kill any of you… Let me make that clear right from the get-go. I want you working for me, and you can't very well do that when you're fucking dead, now can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my men… A fucking whole goddamn lot of them. More than I feel comfortable with." He paused and smirked again "For that you gotta fucking pay." The entire group looked at each other with worry, anger and disgust. They looked back at the bastard when he began talking again "So I'm now going to beat the holy fuck fucking fuckedy fuck out of one of you with my bat. Who I call "Lucille", Lucille has barbed wire wrapped around the end of her. It's fucking awesome. So it's really just a matter of picking which one of you gets the honour." The whole group exchanged looks again except this time only fear laid behind them.

He walked over to Carl who was between Rick and Michonne "What's the story on this future serial killer? Shit fuck, kid—lighten up. At least cry a little" Carl just looked up at the towering man and gave him the dirtiest look possible. "Well I can't kill you before your story ends, too fucking interesting." He moved away from Carl and he now moved towards Glenn who was next to Maggie "Not you… I'm a lot of things but I'd never want to be called a racist. No fucking way… You're off limits" he wondered over to Michonne next "Same. Race card" he then skipped over to Andrea and crouched down in front of her, he placed a hand onto her cheek, she moved her head away in disgust and Merle growled at him "My, my… There's a lot of things I'd like to do to you, and killing you is at the absolute fucking bottom of that list… Still on it though" he smirked and rose. He rotated a bit to the right and looked at Merle "You? How stupid do you think I am? You're practically invincible, you're missing a fucking hand for fuck's sake…" he walked into the middle of the room which was just behind the two unconscious bodies. He lifted his arms to his side, threw his head back and laughed "I simply cannot fucking decide!"

He rubbed his eyes and smirked… yet again. "I've got an idea." He breathed a single mischievous laugh. He lifted Lucille so she was out in front of him, he began to sing "eeny, meeny, miny, moe…" and pointed the bat at someone different after every word. The entire group glared at the man whilst he continued his rhyme. "…It" the rhyme had ended and his bat was pointing at Glenn… "Bring him up". Glenn's eyes grew wide in fear as he got dragged by his collar  
"NO! NO PLEASE!" Maggie begged the man that dragged her husband away  
"Maggie!" Glenn shouted back to her as he reached for her hand but got pulled even further away. Rick rushed to his feet  
"Don't do this. You can't-!" Negan turned and looked at the man  
"You have thirty fucking men surrounding you!.. THIRTY!.. Sit the fuck down right now or you all die!" he returned to towering over Glenn "Anyone moves… At all… Cut the bastards other hand off and fed it to his woman" he chuckled again. "You can breathe… You can blink"  
Maggie looked over at Rick, tears streaming from her eyes "Rick?" the leader bowed his head.  
Negan continued "You can cry… You're all going to be doing that." Tears rand down everyone's face, even Merle let a tear slip. He laughed out loud, then his face went serious, he raised Lucille above his head.  
Glenn begged the man "Please… Please don't"

The most awful 'thakk' echoed through the room when Lucille collided with Glenn's skull, Michonne hugged Carl and everyone else held their other half in their arms, protecting them from the events, Merle's arms were holding Andrea close to him. Maggie was the only one who didn't have anyone, she just sat their screaming for Glenn along with Beth. "Holy shit—He's taking it like a champ!"  
"M—M—M—M—" Rick's jaw dropped, Michonne couldn't stop glaring at Negan and the rest of the group were crying.  
"You in there buddy? I just don't know. Seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit… I cracked your skull so much that you fucking eye popped out. It's gross as shit… I don't think—" Negan was cut off  
"Mag-! MAGGIE!" Glenn screamed her name and she cried even louder. Negan chuckled and swung the bat again as if he was playing baseball, He broke Glenn's jaw and ripped the skin off of his cheek leaving a gaping hole which you could see the inside of his mouth through. Rick's mouth remained open, everyone sobbing aloud, Michonne still glared at the man.  
"You bunch of pussies… I'm just getting started. Lucille is thirsty." He delivered three more hits, leaving Glenn lifeless and squashed on the floor. "Heh, Lucille is a vampire bat" Rick looked at the man through his tears with angry eyes "What? Was the joke that bad?"  
"I'm going to kill you" Negan practically started rolling on the floor laughing.  
"No you won't, the second my body hits the floor my saviours will fucking fuck you people up until your insides are outside—Worse than your little Asian friend for sure". He took Rick's chin in his hand, his tears running over Negan's gloves. "In fact, you want to keep acting though, like I still need to break you… And I'll have a few of my boys run a train on your boy… Got at least a few here that'd be into that sort of thing. Want to test me?..." Carl's eyes went wide, even at his age he understood the threat and even now he was scared. "Well?" he stood up and slapped Rick across the face, he looked down at him "Do you?!" He then delivered a right hook to the man's cheek, causing him to fall to the ground.  
"Dad!" Carl shouted to his father hoping he was alright. Rick held his arm to his face as he began to get back onto his knees

"I know this is hard for you. You've been the king shit mother fucker for so damn long. Bossing people around… Being 'In charge' so long you're probably addicted to it. Hell, you probably thought you had this world figured out. Managing the dead, gathering supplies… Might have even been a long time since the last person died before we came along. Working together…" Rick was finally back on his knees, he looked up at the broad man "That's all over now. Done. Gone. Dead. It's time for something new. Everything has changed, Rick. Things are going to be different from now on. You're entering a whole new world. It didn't have to be such a painful birth… You made it that way." He began to walk away but continued "I just hope—for your fucking sake, you've realised how things work and where you stand in all this… Things have changed, Rick. Whatever you had going for you—that's over… You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me… Welcome to a brand new beginning, you sorry fucks. We'll come for your first offering in one week. Until then…" He whistled to his men who escorted the entire group, including a still unconscious Carol and Daryl and what was left of Glenn out onto the streets

**A/N: I am really sorry for all the dialogue but it helps build the story, I am sometimes looking at the comics and I will take scene's from them and either use them word for word or alter them to fit the situation. RIP Glenn sorry about that but it fits in later with the story. Don't forget to review with your thoughts.**


	16. Chapter 16

"From the valley of the dead  
I'm hearing every word you said  
I'm trying to apologise  
But I can't feel my feelings  
Are you giving us some room to grow  
Or digging us a deeper hole  
You're killing any shred of hope  
For us to believe in" – Before I Die by Papa Roach

Chapter 16

Nobody moved, everyone was frozen. No one understood what just happened, everyone was crying, Maggie and Beth held each other as they sobbed their hearts out, even Merle and Michonne had a tear running down their cheeks. That was no way for someone to go, even being cuffed to a rooftop would've been less sinister. "Oh god… Glenn" the words fell out of Rick's mouth along with more tears from his eyes. Maggie stared at the man, then a few seconds later everyone stared at Maggie as Rick laid on the floor recovering from Maggie's blow.  
"YOU FUCKING COWARD!" she screamed at him. "You let this happen! You let them kill him! He was your friend, god damn it!"  
"Maggie… I" Rick stuttered not knowing what to say. She feel to her knees again and began to cry aloud  
"He's gone… no no no… This can't be happening" her head sank back into her hands as Hershel and Beth fell to her side, tears of their own joining Maggie's on the floor.

"Shit… Daryl, come on boy wake up!" Merle shook his brother, gaining the groups attention. Andrea repeated his actions on Carol, tears streaming from her eyes  
"Carol! Carol please…"  
Merle looked at Hershel and realised he was in no shape to help his brother after just losing his son in law. In all honesty he had no clue what to do himself, Bob wondered over to the two limp bodies, he too was still in shock from the events that had happened. He placed a hand on Merle's shoulder "Let me take a look at them" Merle nodded, he walked over to Andrea and tapped her on the shoulder, she just turned and flung herself at him, her arms were wrapped around his neck as he slowly walked her away from their fallen group members. Even Merle had to admit he was scared that his brother or his woman wouldn't recover, just seeing Daryl in that state broke a part of him, ever since he returned to save him from their bastard father he swore to himself that he would protect his little brother as best he could, he failed their mum, Daryl and himself. He just buried his head into Andrea's neck trying to distract himself from his fallen brother.

Everyone began to calm down, and then started to question what the hell happened. "Rick! Who the fuck were those guys? How did they know us?" Merle questioned the officer, wanting to know the reason why his little brother got beaten within an inch of his life. Rick just stayed on his knees, head bowed in shame, _fuck this!_ Merle thought as he grabbed Rick by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet, he slammed him into a wall. "My brother is barely hanging on over there! So get your head out of your ass and tell us what the fuck is going on!" everyone stared as they awaited their leader's reply, people didn't normally appreciate Merle's anger and actions but he was doing it for the benefit of everyone even if he didn't know it himself. Rick looked up at the eldest Dixon, he acknowledged the wakeup call and gestured for Merle to release him. He released the smaller man and glared at him as he re-adjusted his t-shirt.  
"Everyone I am so sorry, this shouldn't have happened. I really thought we took care of the problem, I didn't want to worry anyone since we already had the pressure of Woodbury plotting an attack".  
"What… Problem?" Merle restrained launching at the man as he asked his question through clenched teeth.  
"Before you and Andrea came back, Michonne, Maggie and I went out on a run, we ran into these four men who instructed us to hand over our supplies in the name of 'Negan', they had their guns mostly pointed at me so I signalled for Maggie and Michonne to kill three of them, we sent the last one back with a message saying not to mess with us again, the about a week or two later a large group of at least ten men stopped a group of us on a hunt and supply run, saying that this so called Negan had declared us dead, we killed them before they could do it to us or the rest of the group. I thought that was it, I thought we were safe, I didn't know they had a much larger group out there…" Everyone stared at Rick, their faces filled with anger, hate, betrayal.  
"Are you being serious!" Maggie wiped her eye's and stood strong "Glenn's dead, Carol and Daryl are barely alive and this all happened because you kept something as big as that a secret so everyone would stay calm! WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN APOCALYPSE! NO ONE IS CALM RICK!" Maggie screamed at the man again. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! WE COULD'VE STOPPED THIS! BUT WE DIDN'T BECAUSE YOU MESSED UP AGAIN!... NEGAN'S MEN DIDN'T HURT DARYL AND CAROL, NEGAN DIDN'T KILL GLENN! YOU DID!" everyone stayed silent, Rick bowed his head in guilty agreement. "It should've been you" Maggie said barely above a whisper, but everyone heard. She shook of her father's hand from her shoulder and walked away, no one went after her, she wouldn't have listened if they did.

Carl stood next to Michonne, his face full of anger and disappointment towards his father. Rick looked over to his son "Carl…", the Grimes boy just shook his head and took off towards the group who were now crowding around Carol and Daryl. Michonne mimicked him and followed hot on his tail.

Everyone watched as Bob switched from Daryl to Carol, checking their pulses and if any lasting damage has been done. Bob stood up and walked over to Merle "They alright?" Merle questioned  
"They've both been beaten pretty bad, they both have concussions, not to mention a lot of blood loss due to their face injuries… It seems Carol got the worst of it" He paused and bowed his head "Daryl should be up and moving soon but it'll take a while for his wounds to heal."  
"What about Carol?" He knew his brother would pull through, he's one of the strongest people Merle knew. He looked over at Carol, he didn't think he would be so concerned about his brother's woman but she had been through hell and back, losing her daughter, getting beaten every single day by her asshole husband and when no one else would, she gave Merle a chance at the prison, she brought him food and had the odd laugh with him while everyone else avoided him at all costs. She was his friend.  
"I'm not sure… She has lost so much blood, they've beaten her black and blue so even if she does wake up, she won't be able to do much for at least a month or two and with all that rest she might not even make a full recovery…" Andrea began to cry again, her head fell onto Merle's shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her and let her sob, He could feel her tears seeping through his shirt.  
"Is there anything I can do?"  
"Well we need a lot of medical supplies for the both of them, and we need blood but we can't exactly ask Carol her blood type"  
"Alright well, I'll get a group together to find us some cars and supplies."  
"One last thing, do you know Daryl's blood type?"  
"Yeah, same as mine"  
"Okay, when you find those supplies you won't be going too far, I'll need you a few times." Merle just nodded, he looked down at Andrea who was still crying into his shoulder, Bob just nodded and walked to the large group to tell them their friend's state.  
"Hey darlin', come one you gotta stay strong for when they wake up." Andrea looked up at him, eye's filled with sorrow and helplessness. She nodded and pried herself from his grip, she walked off hugging herself as she went over to comfort a sobbing Beth.

What was happening to them, this group had never been at a lower point. It seems that everything was happening at once. Merle looked over at Andrea hugging Beth who was still crying her heart out, then at his brother and Carol, next at Rick who still was knelt down on the floor near Glenn, and finally at the drape that covered Glenn's destroyed body. All the emotions inside became too much, Merle lashed out and punched the wall behind him, whether it was to do with anger or sorrow he was unsure, an ear splintering crack filled the air as Merle's fist collided with the brick wall, he withdrew his hand to find it covered in blood and even worse, he couldn't move it. "Fuck!" Merle cursed to the wind and went to find Bob to get some bandages. Rick looked up at the eldest Dixon, he looked so lost without his brother, he never thought he would fuck up this bad, now his two best friends are half way to dead.

"Great, now I haven't got any fucking hands!" Merle sighed as he banged his prosthetic down onto the table making Bob jump  
"I'm sorry Merle but you gotta let me clean the wound otherwise it's never gonna heal." Bob checked the wound over and bandaged his remaining hand.  
"What's the damage doc?"  
"You've sprained you hand for about a week"  
"Well fan-fucking-tastic" Merle responded sarcastically as he went to move his now bandaged hand, the pain was there but it was bearable.

**A/N: Thanks to the few people who requested another chapter, I'm still not quite sure where I'm going with this story but I guess that's the fun part, it's even a mystery to me. If you could review your thoughts that would be amazing! Thanks again**

**Ps. I am going to put some lyrics that link to each chapter at the beginning from now on.**


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